Wednesday, December 1st, 1813
To-day responded to La Baronne de Stael Holstein, and sent to Leigh Hunt (an acquisition to my acquaintance—through Moore—of last summer) a copy of the two Turkish tales. Hunt is an extraordinary character, and not exactly of the present age. He reminds me more of the Pym and Hampden times—much talent, great independence of spirit, and an austere, yet not repulsive, aspect. If he goes on
qualis ab incepto
, I know few men who will deserve more praise or obtain it. I must go and see him again;—the rapid succession of adventure, since last summer, added to some serious uneasiness and business, have interrupted our acquaintance; but he is a man worth knowing; and though, for his own sake, I wish him out of prison, I like to study character in such situations. He has been unshaken, and will continue so. I don't think him deeply versed in life;—he
is
the bigot of virtue (not religion), and enamoured of the beauty of that "empty name," as the last breath of Brutus pronounced
, and every day proves it. He is, perhaps, a little opinionated, as all men who are the
centre
of
circles
, wide or narrow—the Sir Oracles, in whose name two or three are gathered together—must be, and as even Johnson was; but, withal, a valuable man, and less vain than success and even the consciousness of preferring "the right to the expedient" might excuse.
To-morrow there is a party of
purple
at the "blue" Miss Berry's. Shall I go? um!—I don't much affect your blue-bottles;—but one ought to be civil. There will be, "I guess now" (as the Americans say), the Staels and Mackintoshes—good—the —— s and —— s—not so good—the —— s, etc., etc.—good for nothing.
Perhaps
that blue-winged Kashmirian butterfly of book-learning
, Lady Charlemont, will be there. I hope so; it is a pleasure to look upon that most beautiful of faces.
Wrote
to H.:—he has been telling that I———
I am sure, at least,
I
did not mention it, and I wish he had not. He is a good fellow, and I obliged myself ten times more by being of use than I did him,—and there's an end on't.
Baldwin
is
boring
me to present their King's Bench petition. I presented Cartwright's last year; and Stanhope and I stood against the whole House, and mouthed it valiantly—and had some fun and a little abuse for our opposition. But "I
am
not i' th' vein"
for this business. Now, had —— been here, she would have
made
me do it.
There
is a woman, who, amid all her fascination, always urged a man to usefulness or glory. Had she remained, she had been my tutelar genius.
Baldwin
is very importunate—but, poor fellow, "I can't get out, I can't get out—said the starling."
Ah, I am as
bad
as that dog Sterne, who preferred whining over "a dead ass to relieving a living mother"
—villain—hypocrite—slave—sycophant! but
I
am no better. Here I cannot stimulate myself to a speech for the sake of these unfortunates, and three words and half a smile of —— had she been here to urge it (and urge it she infallibly would—at least she always pressed me on senatorial duties, and particularly in the cause of weakness) would have made me an advocate, if not an orator. Curse on Rochefoucault for being always right! In him a lie were virtue,—or, at least, a comfort to his readers.
George Byron has not called to-day; I hope he will be an admiral, and, perhaps, Lord Byron into the bargain. If he would but marry, I would engage never to marry myself, or cut him out of the heirship. He would be happier, and I should like nephews better than sons.
I shall soon be six-and-twenty (January 22d., 1814). Is there any thing in the future that can possibly console us for not being always
twenty-five
?
"Oh Gioventu!
Oh Primavera! gioventu dell' anno.
Oh Gioventu! primavera della vita."
Footnote 1:
| Strato | For Brutus only overcame himself, And no man else hath honour by his death. |
| ... | |
| Octavius | According to his virtue let us use him, With all respect and rites of burial. |
Julius Cæsar
, act v. sc. 5.
Footnote 2:
In
The Giaour
(lines 388-392) occurs the following passage:
"As rising on its purple wing
The insect-queen of Eastern spring
O'er emerald meadows of Kashmeer
Invites the young pursuer near," etc.
To line 389 is appended this note:
"The blue-winged butterfly of Kashmeer, the most rare and beautiful of the species."
Footnote 3:
See
to Francis Hodgson, p. 294.
Footnote 4:
The letters which W.J. Baldwin, a debtor in the King's Bench prison, wrote to Byron are preserved. Byron seems to have refused to present the petition from diffidence, but he interested himself in the subject, and probably induced Lord Holland to take up the question. (See p. 318,
2.) In the list of abuses enumerated by Baldwin is mentioned a "strong room," in which prisoners were confined, without fires or glass to the windows, in the depth of winter.
Footnote 5:
Richard III
., act iv, sc. 2.
Footnote 6:
Sentimental Journey
(ed. 1819), vol. ii. p. 379.
Footnote 7:
Ibid.
, vol. ii. p. 337.
