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BEAUTIES OF BYRON.

PROSE.

LORD BYRON AND HIS CONNECTIONS ALL ONLY
CHILDREN.

THIS day and this hour, (one, on the clock,) my daughter is six years old. I wonder when I shall see her again, or if ever I shall see her at all.

I have remarked a curious coincidence, which almost looks like a fatality. My mother, my wife, my daughter, my half-sister, my sister's mother, and myself, are all only children. My father, by his first marriage with Lady Conyers (an only child), had only my sister; and by his second marriage with an only child, an only child again. Lady Byron, as you know, was one also, and so is my daughter, &c. Is not this rather odd-such a complication of only children? But the fiercest animals have the fewest numbers in their litters, as lions, tigers, and even elephants, which are mild in comparison.To Mr. Murray. Pisa, Dec. 10th, 1822.

VOL. I.

B

LORD BYRON'S EARLY EDUCATION AT ABERDEEN.

.

For several years of my earliest childhood, I was in that city, but have never revisited it since I was ten years old. I was sent, at five years old, or earlier, to a school kept by a Mr. Bowers, who was called “ Bodsy Bowers," by reason of his dapperness. It was a school for both sexes. I learned little except to repeat by rote the first lesson of monosyllables (“God made man

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"Let us love him "), by hearing it often repeated, without acquiring a letter. Whenever proof was made of my progress at home, I repeated these words with the most rapid fluency; but on turning over a new leaf, I continued to repeat them, so that the narrow boundaries of my first year's accomplishments were detected, my ears boxed, (which they did not deserve, seeing it was by ear only that I had acquired my letters), and my intellects consigned to a new preceptor. He was a very devout, clever, little clergyman, named Ross, afterwards minister of one of the kirks (East, I think). Under him I made astonishing progress; and I recollect to this day his mild manners and good-natured pains-taking. The moment I could read, my grand passion was history; and why, I know not, but I was particularly taken with the battle near the Lake Regillus in the Roman History, put into my hands the first. Four years ago, when standing on the heights of Tusculum, and looking down upon the little round lake that was once Regillus, and which dots the immense expanse below, I remembered my young enthusiasm and my old instructor. Afterwards I had a very serious, saturnine, but kind young man, named Paterson, for a tutor. He was the son of my shoemaker, but a good scholar, as is common

LORD BYRON AT HARROW.

with the Scotch. He was a rigid Presbyterian also. With him I began Latin in Ruddiman's Grammar, and continued till I went to the Grammar School, (Scotticè, "Schule ;" Aberdonicè, "Squeel "), where I threaded all the classes to the fourth, when I was recalled to England (where I had been hatched) by the demise of my uncle.* I acquired this handwriting, which I can hardly read myself, under the fair copies of Mr. Duncan of the same city: I don't think he would plume himself much upon my progress. However, I wrote much better then than I have ever done since. Haste and agitation of one kind or another have quite spoilt as pretty a scrawl as ever scratched over a frank. The grammar-school might consist of a hundred and fifty of all ages under age. It was divided into five classes taught by four masters, the chief teaching the fourth and fifth himself. As in England, the fifth and sixth and monitors, are heard by the head masters.

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Till I was eighteen years old (odd as it may seem) I had never read a review. But while at Harrow, my general information was so great on modern topics as to induce a suspicion that I could only collect so much information from Reviews, because I was never seen reading, but always idle, and in mischief, or at play. The truth is, that I read eating, read in bed, read when no one else read, and had read all sorts of reading since I was five years old, and yet never met with a Review, which is the only reason I know of why I should not have read them. But it is true; for I remember when

* The poet succeeded to the estate and title of his great uncle on the 19th of May, 1798.

Hunter and Curzon, in 1804, told me this opinion at Harrow, I made them laugh by my ludicrous astonishment in asking them "What is a Review ?" To be sure,

they were then less common. In three years more, I

was better acquainted with that same; but the first I ever read was in 1806-7.

At school I was (as I have said) remarked for the extent and readiness of my general information; but in all other respects idle, capable of great sudden exertions, but of few continuous drudgeries. My qualities were much more oratorical and martial than poetical; and Dr. Drury, my grand patron, (our head master,) had a great notion that I should turn out an orator, from my fluency, my turbulence, my voice, my copiousness of declamation, and my action. I remember that my first declamation astonished him into some unwonted (for he was economical of such) and sudden compliments, before the declaimers at our first rehearsal. My first Harrow verses, (that is, English, as exercises, a translation of a chorus from the Prometheus of Eschylus,) were received by him but coolly. No one had the least notion that I should subside into poesy.

HIS HARROW FIGHTS.-DR. DRURY.

At Harrow, I fought my way very fairly. I think I lost but one battle out of seven; and that was to H— ; - and the rascal did not win it, but by the unfair treatment of his own boarding-house, where we boxed: I had not even a second. I never forgave him ; and I should be sorry to meet him now, as I am sure we should quarrel. My most memorable combats were with Morgan, Rice, Rainsford, and Lord Jocelyn,—but we were always friendly afterwards. I was a most

HIS SCHOOLFELLOWS.

5

unpopular boy, but led latterly, and have retained many of my school friendships, and all my dislikesexcept to Dr. Butler, whom I treated rebelliously, and have been sorry ever since. Dr. Drury, whom I plagued sufficiently too, was the best, the kindest, (and yet strict too,) friend I ever had-and I look upon him still as a father.

HIS SCHOOLFELLOWS-SIR ROBERT PEEL, SIR GEORGE SINCLAIR, CLAYTON, LORD CLARE.

Peel, the orator and statesman ("that was, or is, or is to be,") was my form-fellow, and we were both at the top of our remove (a public school phrase). We were on good terms, but his brother was my intimate friend. There were always great hopes of Peel amongst us all, masters and scholars; and he has not disappointed them. As a scholar he was greatly my superior; as a declaimer and actor, I was reckoned at least his equal; as a schoolboy, out of school, I was always in scrapes, and he never; and in school, he always knew his lesson, and I rarely,—but when I knew it, I knew it nearly as well. In general information, history, &c. &c., I think I was his superior, as well as of most boys of my standing.

The prodigy of our school-days was George Sinclair, (son of Sir John); he made exercises for half the school (literally), verses at will, and themes without it. *** He was a friend of mine, and in the same remove, and used at times to beg me to let him do my exercise,—a request always most readily accorded upon a pinch, or when I wanted to do something else, which was usually once an hour. On the other hand, he was pacific, and I savage; so I fought for him, or thrashed others for him, or thrashed himself to make him thrash others

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