The Works of Lord Byron: Letters and Journals Volume I Part 14

Believe me, Mr. Terry, your's Truly,

BYRON.

40.--To John Hanson.

Trin. Coll. Cambridge, Novr. 23, 1805.

Dear Sir,--Your Advice was good but I have not determined whether I shall follow it; this Place is the _Devil_ or at least his princ.i.p.al residence. They call it the University, but any other Appellation would have suited it much better, for Study is the last pursuit of the Society; the Master [1] eats, drinks, and sleeps, the Fellows [2]

_Drink, dispute and pun_; the Employment of the Under graduates you will probably conjecture without my description. I sit down to write with a Head confused with Dissipation which, tho' I hate, I cannot avoid.

I have only supped at Home 3 times since my Arrival, and my table is constantly covered with invitations, after all I am the most _steady_ Man in College, nor have I got into many Sc.r.a.pes, and none of consequence. Whenever you appoint a day my Servant shall come up for "Oateater," and as the Time of paying my Bills now approaches, the remaining 50 will be very _agreeable_. You need not make any deduction as I shall want most of it; I will settle with you for the Saddle and Accoutrements _next_ quarter. The Upholsterer's Bill will not be sent in yet as my rooms are to be papered and painted at Xmas when I will procure them. No Furniture has been got except what was absolutely necessary including some Decanters and Wine Gla.s.ses.

Your Cook certainly deceived you, as I know my Servant was in Town 5 days, and she stated 4. I have yet had no reason to distrust him, but we will examine the affair when I come to Town when I intend lodging at Mrs. Ma.s.singbird's. My Mother and I have quarrelled, which I bear with the _patience_ of a Philosopher; custom reconciles me to everything.

In the Hope that Mrs. H. and the _Battalion_ are in good Health.

I remain, Sir, etc., etc.,

BYRON.

[Footnote 1: William Lort Mansel (1753-1820), Master of Trinity (1798-1820), Bishop of Bristol (1808-1820), was the chief wit of Cambridge in his day, and the author of many neat epigrams. "I wish,"

said Rogers (_Table-Talk_, etc., p. 60), "somebody would collect all the Epigrams written by Dr. Mansel; they are remarkably neat and clever."

Beloe, in _The s.e.xagenarian_ (vol. i. p. 98), speaks of Mansel as "a young man remarkable for his personal confidence, for his wit and humour, and, above all, for his gallantries." Apparently, on the same somewhat unreliable authority, he was, as Master, a severe disciplinarian, and extremely tenacious of his dignity (i. p. 99).]

[Footnote 2: Byron probably refers to Richard Porson (1759-1808), Professor of Greek (1792-1808). The son of the parish clerk of Bacton and Earl Ruston, in Norfolk, Porson was entered, by the kindness of friends, on the foundation of Eton College (1774-1778). At Trinity, Cambridge, he became a Scholar in 1780, and a Fellow (1782-1792). In 1792, as he could not conscientiously take orders, he vacated his Fellows.h.i.+p, but was elected Professor of Greek. When Byron was at Cambridge, Porson's health and powers were failing. Silent and reserved, except in the society of his friends, a sloven in his person, he had probably taken to drink as a cure for sleeplessness. In a note to the _Pursuits of Literature_ (Dialogue iv. lines 508-516),

"What," asks the author, J. T. Mathias, himself a Fellow of Trinity, "is mere genius without a regulated life! To show the deformity of vice to the rising hopes of the country, the policy of ancient Sparta exhibited an inebriated slave."

Yet Porson's fine love of truth and genius for textual criticism make him one of the greatest, if not the greatest, name in British scholars.h.i.+p. Porson married, in 1795, Mrs. Lunan, sister of Mr. Perry, the editor of the 'Morning Chronicle', for which he frequently wrote. In the 'Shade of Alexander Pope', Mathias again attacks him as "Dogmatic Bardolph in his nuptial noose." Porson's wife died shortly after their marriage. His controversial method was merciless. Of his 'Letters to Archdeacon Travis', Green ('Lover of Literature', p. 213) says that

"he dandles Travis as a tyger would a fawn: and appears only to reserve him alive, for a time, that he may gratify his appet.i.te for sport, before he consigns his feeble prey, by a rougher squeeze, to destruction."]

41.--To John Hanson.

Trinity College, Cambridge, Novr. 30, 1805.

Sir,--After the contents of your Epistle, you will probably be less surprized at my answer, than I have been at many points of yours; [1]

never was I more astonished than at the perusal, for I confess I expected very different treatment. Your _indirect_ charge of Dissipation does not affect me, nor do I fear the strictest inquiry into my conduct; neither here nor at _Harrow_ have I disgraced myself, the "Metropolis" and the "Cloisters" are alike unconscious of my Debauchery, and on the plains of _merry Sherwood_ I have experienced _Misery_ alone; in July I visited them for the last time.

Mrs. Byron and myself are now totally separated, injured by her, I sought refuge with Strangers, too late I see my error, for how was kindness to be expected from _others_, when denied by a _parent_? In you, Sir, I imagined I had found an Instructor; for your advice I thank you; the Hospitality of yourself and Mrs. H. on many occasions I shall always gratefully remember, for I am not of opinion that even present Injustice can cancel past obligations.

Before I proceed, it will be necessary to say a few words concerning Mrs. Byron; you hinted a probability of her appearance at Trinity; the instant I hear of her arrival I quit Cambridge, though _Rustication_ or _Expulsion_ be the consequence. Many a weary week of _torment_ have I pa.s.sed with her, nor have I forgot the insulting _Epithets_ with which myself, my _Sister_, my _father_ and my _Family_ have been repeatedly reviled.

To return to you, Sir, though I feel obliged by your Hospitality, etc., etc., in the present instance I have been completely deceived.

When I came down to College, and even previous to that period I stipulated that not only my Furniture, but even my Gowns and Books, should be paid for that I might set out free from _Debt_. Now with all the _Sang Froid_ of your profession you tell me, that not only I shall not be permitted to repair my rooms (which was at first agreed to) but that I shall not even be indemnified for my present expence. In one word, hear my determination. I will _never_ pay for them out of my allowance, and the Disgrace will not attach to me but to _those_ by whom I have been deceived. Still, Sir, not even the Shadow of dishonour shall reflect on _my_ Name, for I will see that the Bills are discharged; whether by you or not is to me indifferent, so that the men I employ are not the victims of my Imprudence or your Duplicity. I have ordered nothing extravagant; every man in College is allowed to fit up his rooms; mine are secured to me during my residence which will probably be some time, and in rendering them decent I am more praiseworthy than culpable. The Money I requested was but a secondary consideration; as a _Lawyer_ you were not obliged to advance it till due; as a _Friend_ the request might have been complied with. When it is required at Xmas I shall expect the demand will be answered. In the course of my letter I perhaps have expressed more asperity than I intended, it is my nature to feel warmly, nor shall any consideration of interest or Fear ever deter me from giving vent to my Sentiments, when injured, whether by a Sovereign or a Subject.

I remain, etc., etc.,

BYRON.

[Footnote 1: The quarrel arose from Byron misunderstanding a letter from Hanson on the subject of the allowance made by the Court of Chancery for his furniture.]

42.--To John Hanson.

Trin. Coll. Cambridge, Dec. 4, 1805.

Sir,--In charging you with downright _Duplicity_ I wronged you, nor do I hesitate to atone for an Injury which I feel I have committed, or add to my Fault by the Vindication of an expression dictated by Resentment, an _expression_ which deserves Censure, and demands the apology I now offer; for I think that Disposition indeed _mean_ which adds Obstinacy to Insult, by attempting the Palliation of unmerited Invective from the mistaken principle of disdaining the Avowal of even _self convicted_ Error. In regard to the other _Declarations_ my Sentiments remain _unaltered;_ the event will shew whether my Prediction is false. I know Mrs. Byron too well to imagine that she would part with a _Sous_, and if by some _Miracle_ she was prevailed upon, the _Details_ of her _Generosity_ in allowing me part of my _own property_ would be continually _thundered_ in my ears, or _launched_ in the _Lightening_ of her letters, so that I had rather encounter the Evils of Embarra.s.sment than lie under an obligation to one who would continually reproach me with her Benevolence, as if her Charity had been extended to a _Stranger_ to the Detriment of her own Fortune. My opinion is perhaps harsh for a Son, but it is justified by experience, it is confirmed by _Facts_, it was generated by oppression, it has been nourished by Injury. To you, Sir, I attach no Blame. I am too much indebted to your kindness to retain my anger for a length of Time, that _Kindness_ which, by a forcible contrast, has taught me to spurn the _Ties_ of _Blood_ unless strengthened by proper and gentle Treatment. I declare upon my honor that the Horror of entering Mrs.

Byron's House has of late years been so implanted in my Soul, that I dreaded the approach of the Vacations as the _Harbingers_ of _Misery_.

My letters to my Sister, written during my residence at Southwell, would prove my a.s.sertion. With my kind remembrances to Mrs. H. and Hargreaves,

I remain, Sir, yours truly,

BYRON.

43.--To John Hanson.

Trin. Coll. Cambridge, Dec. 13, 1805.

DEAR SIR,--I return you my Thanks for the remaining 50 which came in extremely _apropos_, and on my visit to Town about the 19th will give you a regular receipt. In your Extenuation of Mrs. Byron's Conduct you use as a _plea_, that, by her being my Mother, greater allowance ought to be made for those _little_ Traits in her Disposition, so much more _energetic_ than _elegant_. I am afraid, (however good your intention) that you have added to rather than diminished my Dislike, for independent of the moral Obligations she is under to _protect, cherish_, and _instruct_ her _offspring_, what can be expected of that Man's heart and understanding who has continually (from Childhood to Maturity) beheld so pernicious an Example? His nearest relation is the first person he is taught to revere as his Guide and Instructor; the perversion of Temper before him leads to a corruption of his own, and when that is depraved, vice quickly becomes habitual, and, though timely Severity may sometimes be necessary & justifiable, surely a peevish hara.s.sing System of Torment is by no means commendable, & when that is interrupted by ridiculous Indulgence, the only purpose answered is to soften the feelings for a moment which are soon after to be doubly wounded by the recal of accustomed Harshness. I will now give this disagreeable Subject to the _Winds_. I conclude by observing that I am the more confirmed in my opinion of the Futility of Natural Ties, unless supported not only by Attachment but _affectionate_ and _prudent_ Behaviour.

Tell Mrs. H. that the predicted alteration in my Manners and Habits has not taken place. I am still the Schoolboy and as great a _Rattle_ as ever, and between ourselves College is not the place to improve either Morals or Income.

I am, Sir, yours truly,