220—to Thomas Moore
January 29, 1812.
My Dear Moore,—I wish very much I could have seen you; I am in a state of ludicrous tribulation. ——
Why
do
you say that I dislike your poesy
? I have expressed no such opinion, either in
or elsewhere. In scribbling myself, it was necessary for me to find fault, and I fixed upon the trite charge of immorality, because I could discover no other, and was so perfectly qualified in the innocence of my heart, to "pluck that mote from my neighbour's eye."
I feel very, very much obliged by your approbation; but, at
this moment
, praise, even
your
praise, passes by me like "the idle wind." I meant and mean to send you a copy the moment of publication; but now I can
think
of nothing but damned, deceitful,—delightful woman, as Mr. Liston says in the
Knight of Snowdon
?
Believe me, my dear Moore,
Ever yours, most affectionately,
Byron
.
Footnote 1:
Of Moore's early poems Byron was an admirer. The influence of "Little" and "Anacreon" is strongly marked throughout
Hours of Idleness
. For the "trite charge of immorality," see
English Bards, etc.
, lines 283-294; and
Letters
, vol. i. p. 113. Byron's opinion of Moore's later poetry was thus stated by him to Lady Blessington (
Conversations
, pp. 354, 355):
"Having compared Rogers's poems to a flower-garden, to what shall I compare Moore's?—to the Valley of Diamonds, where all is brilliant and attractive, but where one is so dazzled by the sparkling on every side that one knows not where to fix, each gem beautiful in itself, but overpowering to the eye from their quantity."
Footnote 2:
The Knight of Snowdoun
, a musical drama, written by Thomas Morton (1764-1838), and founded on
The Lady of the Lake
, was produced at Covent Garden, Feb. 5, 1811, and published the same year. John Liston (1776-1846), the most famous comedian of the century, played the part of "Macloon," his wife that of "Isabel." In act iii. sc. 3 Macloon says,
"Oh, woman! woman! deceitful, damnable, (changing into a half-smile) delightful woman! do all one can, there's nothing else worth thinking of."
