Thou hast nobly fought for freedom, for the freedom of a world, And as a death-defying Hero, Grecia's flag thou hast unfurled, Thou, gazing on our mountains, there saw'st Freedom's vision fair, Though in the valley hard the yoke her children yet must bear ; Already moved by victory's breath thou heard'st the laurels rustle, Already pride of battle swelled thy great heart's every muscle.
When now the destined time drew nigh which afar thou hadst descried,
For thee it had no terrors, but as bridegroom to his bride
To Hellas' open arms thou hastened joyous as she spoke-
Is my grief o'er? Tyrtæus risen? Has he again awoke ? Then the kings of earth may pour contempt, muttering with secret scorn,
Their priests may now deride-courtiers mock at me forlorn,
For I see the poet's banner flutt'ring gaily o'er the sea,
And dolphins dance around the ship that bringeth him to me;
The waves' white crests they proudly rear around the vessel's bows,
Leaning against the mast he stands, and tunes his lyre to rouse,—
Freedom! sings he to me loudly, Freedom! all my shores reply;
Freedom reddens in his cheek, Freedom glances from his eye;
Welcome, hero of the lyre! Welcome, champion of the right!
O come, Tyrtæus, come! lead my sons into the fight!'
Then he stepped from out the ship, threw himself upon the land,
And silently he pressed his lips upon the yellow sand;
Silent-as if he moved alone-he hurried through the crowd,
Who rushed to meet him on the shore, and low before him bowed.
But as he kissed the shore so loved, on him a shadow falls;
Death's Angel there with outspread wing, stands threatening on
our walls;
Yet the hero trembled not before that messenger of woe;
Stern he gazed into his eye: 'Call'st thou me ?-then be it so!
Let me only gain one victory, let me only fight one fight,
For the freedom of the Hellenes; then into thy long night
I'll fearless follow thee, pale friend! at thy first whisper low,
For life's drama I have laughed through and wept through long
ago."
Cruel Death! Assassin mean! thou didst not grant him his
But, creeping up behind him when his sword was in its rest,
Thou didst breathe upon him foully, with miasma's deadly air, Extinguishing the spark of life within his bosom fair.
Without a stroke, without a blow, sank down that noble form,
Like an oak tree which has stood unbent through many a winter's
C storm,
But overspread by cankers vile in one hour of sultry heat,
The hero of the forest dies, the death for frail flowers meet.
Thus sank the hero smitten in the fullest bloom of life,
Waiting eager at the barrier, girt for another strife,
Scanning eagerly the race course, the goal already seen,
Which beckoned him to victory with wreath of laurel green.
Ah! the conflict is denied him! lay the crown on his pale head! Now, Death, where is thy victory? thou hast not robbed the dead!
Thou hast given to him the crown which thou would'st not let him win,
And the laurel shines more brightly from the pale face within.
Seven and thirty minute guns thunder-thunder thro' the spheres, And ye high waves roll onward the sad echoes till She hearsShe, his native country, hears from far our booming thunders borne,
And the son whom living she outlawed, she dead may weeping
What Britannia owed to Hellas of counsel and of aid,
That debt now with his life blood her son hath nobly paid.
Now, Oh England, grasp the hand that o'er his bier we reach from hence,
Let us call thee, land of Freedom! our Deliverer, our Defence.
Byron's first school described, 18
Abrantes, Duchesse d', her description
of Mrs. Spencer Smith, 94
'Abydos, Bride of,' the introductory
lines of, suggested by Mignon's
song, 134
great success of, 135
Accent, the Scottish, Byron's hatred
of, 26
Albania, Byron's visit to, 95
his description of the country and
people, 96
Albrizzi, Countess of, 222
her portraits of celebrated men, 222
her salon at Venice, 223-4
Alfieri, interprets precocity of love as
indicative of genius, 27
Ali Pasha, his reception of Byron, 98
impression of his character on
Byron, 99
manner of his death, 100
Allegra, Byron's natural daughter,
born 1817, 225
described by Byron, 226
sent to a convent to be educated, 226
- dies of fever (1822), 227
buried at Harrow, 228
Alma Mater, a poetical epistle from,
to Lord Byron, 65
Americans, his respect for, 275
Americani, a division of the Carbonari,
Ariosto, portrait of, described by
Byron, 370
Armenian monastery, 217
Athens, Byron's first visit to, 104;
second visit, 107
Athens, the Maid of, 104
Avarice, that good, old- gentlemanly
vice,' 372
AILLIE, Dr., consulted regarding
Byron's lameness in his boyhood,
consulted by Lady Byron as to the
state of Lord Byron's mind, 159
Balgounie, Brig of, anecdote of Byron's
boyhood connected with, 23
Ball, Sir Alexander, kindly receives
Byron and Hobhouse at Malta, 93
Bankes, William, an early friend of
Byron's, 54
Becher, Rev. J. T., a warm and wise
friend of Byron's, 58, 449
writes the epilogue for the private
theatricals at Southwell, 60
objects to one of the poems in the
first private volume, 61, 449
- carries through the press the second
edition of the Hours of Idleness,'
455
Beyle (Stendhal), Byron's letter to, in
defence of Scott, 129
Bible, the, Byron's early acquaintance
with, 16, 482
Blaquière, Captain, urges Byron to
enlist in the cause of Greece, 280
Boatswain, Byron's favourite dog, 59;
death of, 75; tomb of, at Newstead,
76
Bowers, Mr., Byron's first school-
Bowles, Rev. William Lisle, sonnets
of, 383
the mournful prince of maudlin
sonneteers,' 384
Byron's controversy with, 383-5
Brydges, Sir Egerton, his edition of
Collins quoted, 435
Butler, Dr., head master of Harrow,
disliked by Byron, 41
Byron, family, characteristics of, 1;
great antiquity of, 2; ancient name
of, 1; blot on their escutcheon,
2, 435-8
Byron, John, knighted by Queen Eliz-
abeth, 1559, 3
- John, raised to the Peerage 1643,
ibid., 436
Richard, second Lord Byron,
epitaph of, in Hucknall-Torkard
church, 4
- William, third Lord Byron, a poet, 4
William, fifth Lord Byron, kills
Mr. Chaworth in a duel, 5; his trial
in Westminster Hall, ibid.; popular
legends concerning, 6; eccentricities
of, ibid.; his character defended by
the poet, 445
Isabella, sister of fifth Lord Byron,
married to the Earl of Carlisle, 30;
eccentric character of, 31
- Admiral, grandfather of the poet,
6; his life and adventures, 7
Byron, John, father of the poet,
character of, 8; marries Lady
Carmarthen, ibid.; marries as his
second wife Miss Gordon of Gight,
9; dissipates her fortune, 11; goes to
France, 11; dies at Valenciennes,
ibid.; character of, defended by the
poet, 14, 444
George Anson, second son of
Admiral Byron, 8
Mrs., mother of the poet,
takes her son to Aberdeen, 1790,
12; separates from her husband, 13;
faults of the character of, 15; be-
lieves her son destined to be great,
27; takes her son to Newstead,
autumn 1798, 28; retires to Not-
tingham, 30; consults Dr. Baillie
regarding the lameness of her son,
33 receives a pension of 300l. per
annum on the Civil List, ibid.;
described by Dr. Glennie, 34; re-
moves to Southwell (1804), 57;
sudden illness and death of, 112
George Gordon. sixth Lord,
the poet, born at 24 Holles Street,
Cavendish Square, January 22, 1788,
11, 440
his pride of birth, 2, 435
deformity of his foot, supposed
embitters his whole life, 12
baptised February 29, 440
taken to Aberdeen (1790) by his
mother, 12
sent to school at Aberdeen when
five years old, 17
his account of his learning to read,
18
his early masters described, 18
sent to the grammar school at
Aberdeen, 1794, 18
- learns French at De Loyaute's
academy, 18
not remarkable for proficiency at
school, 19
- early studies history, 19
- early passion for the East and East-
ern history, ibid.
- character of his boyhood, 20
meant Childe Harold to be a 'po-
etical Zeluco,' 20
- distinguished in the play-ground,
22
anecdotes of his boyhood, 22
- learns early to love lonely walks,
- anecdotes of his ride across the
Brig of Balgounie, 23
taken after the scarlet fever to the
farm-house of Ballatrech, 24
early influence of the scenery of the
Highlands on, 25
- limited extent of the influence of
Scotland on, 26
- anecdote illustrative of his hatred
of the Scottish accent, 26
- early love for Mary Duff, 27
- effects on, of the news of the death
of the old Lord Byron, 28
- goes with his mother to Newstead
in the autumn of 1798, 30
Byron, learns Latin with Mr.Rogers, 32
miniature of, as a boy, presented to
his nurse, May Gray, 32; goes to
Dr. Glennie's school, Dulwich, 34;
scandalised at his mother's in-
firmities, 34; called the old En-
glish Baron' at Dr. Glennie's, 35;
sent (1801) to Harrow, 36; his
first attempt in verse, 36; in his
thirteenth year attempts a play,
Ulrich and Ilvina,' 37; falls in love
with Margaret Parker, 37; his
early lines (1802) on Margaret
Parker, ibid., 446-7; struck with
the beauty of the sunset on the
Malvern Hills, 87; prediction of a
fortune-teller regarding, 37; his
character at Harrow, 39; hates
Harrow at first, 39; his high
opinion of Dr. Drury, 40; dis-
likes Dr. Butler, the successor of
Dr. Drury, 41; learns little Latin
and less Greek at Harrow, 42;
never acquires a facility of speaking
French, 43; ignorant of German,
ibid.; his desultory reading at Har-
row, 43; knew Little's poems by
heart at 15, 43 (note), 450; his
favourite seat at Harrow, 43; hopes
to be buried in Harrow church-
yard, 44; his enthusiastic friend-
ships at Harrow, 44-6, 467; de-
scription of Peel as his school com-
panion, 45
falls in love with Mary Chaworth,
46
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- his dream of love dissolved, 48;
describes his parting with Mary
Chaworth in The Dream,' 48; his
feelings when he hears of Mary
Chaworth's marriage, 49
meets her after her marriage (1808),
enters Trinity College, Cambridge,
dislikes the
October 1805, 51;
studies of the University, ibid.;
licentiousness at College, exagger-
ated, 55; devotion to athletic exer-.
cises, 56; spends the summer
holidays (1804) at Southwell, 57;
life at, 57; intimacy with the Pigot
family, 58; quarrels with his
mother at Southwell, 59; takes
in private
a prominent part
at Southwell, 60;
theatricals
writes the prologue for the play, 60;
speaks the epilogue written by the
Rev. J. T. Becher, 60.
Byron, prints his first volume of fugi-
tive pieces for private circulation,
November, 1806, 61, 448; burns the
whole impression, with the excep-
tion of two copies, ibid., 450; prints,
January, 1807, the second private
collection of poems, 61, 451
— publishes the Hours of Idleness,'
March 1807, 62, 453; returns to
Cambridge, June 1807, 62
begins to reduce his weight, 63;
enters into London life, 63
- gratified with the reception of the
Hours of Idleness,' 64; writes a
Review of Wordsworth's poems in
the Monthly Literary Recreations,'
ibid.; spends the winter of 1807-8
at Cambridge, ibid.
statue of, placed in Trinity College
Library, 66
- occupies Newstead Abbey, Septem-
ber, 1808. 72
invites a party of his Cambridge
friends to Newstead, 73, 469
reads much during his stay at
Newstead, 75
Byron's oak at Newstead, 75, 469
attains his majority, January 22,
1809, 76
-profoundly mor.ified by an article
in Edinburgh Review,' 77, 452
thought poetry was not his voca-
tion, 78
'English Bards and Scotch Re-
viewers,' 79
- protests he would never sell New-
stead, 80
writes his own and his sister's
name on a tree at Newstead, 81,
(note)
takes his seat in the House of
Lords, March 13, 1809, 85
Dallas' description of the event, 86
publishes anonymously the 'English
Bards and Scotch Reviewers,' 87
publishes the second edition with
his name, 88
prepares to travel, 88
starts on his pilgrimage with Hob-
house, 89
his ardour of friendship chilled,
89-90
- arrives at Lisbon, 90
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