CXXXIL A tigress robb'd of young, a lioness, Of ladies who can not have their own way; The love of offspring's nature's general law, From tigresses and cubs to ducks and ducklings; There's nothing whets the beak, or arms the claw Like an invasion of their babes and sucklings; And all who have seen a human nursery, saw [lings; How mothers love their children's squalls and chuckThis strong extreme effect (to tire no longer Your patience) shows the cause must still be stronger. nence, by the women whose inordinate passions they had refused to gratify at the expense of their duty, and sacrificed to the fatal credulity of the husbands of the disappointed fair ones. It is very probable that both the stories are founded on the Scripture account of Joseph and Potiphar's wife.GIFFORD.] 1["By heaven! methinks, it were an easy leap, To pluck bright honour from the pale-faced moon."Henry IV.] 2["Like natural Shakspeare on the immortal page."— Ms.) 3 [“And when I have stolen upon these sons-in law, ["A woman scorn'd is pitiless as fate, ["Yes, my valour is certainly going! it is sneaking o I feel it oozing, as it were, at the palms of my hands SHERIDAN'S Rivals.] 6" Or all the stuff which utter'd by the Blues' is."— MS.] Here they were interrupted by a humming First came her damsels, a decorous file, And then his Highness' eunuchs, black and white; As to announce his visits a long while His Highness was a man of solemn port, Shawl'd to the nose, and bearded to the eyes, His lately bowstrung brother caused his rise; He went to mosque in state, and said his prayers With more than "Oriental scrupulosity;"3 He left to his vizier all state affairs, And show'd but little royal curiosity; I know not if he had domestic cares No process proved connubial animosity; Four wives and twice five hundred maids, unseen, Were ruled as calmly as a Christian queen. CXLIX. 4 If now and then there happen'd a slight slip, The story scarcely pass'd a single lip. 1["But prithee-get my women in the way, MS.] That all the stars may gleam with due adorning." 2 It may not be unworthy of remark, that Bacon, in his essay on "Empire," hints that Solyman was the last of his line; on what authority, I know not. These are his words:The destruction of Mustapha was so fatal to Solyman's line; as the succession of the Turks from Solyman until this day is suspected to be untrue, and of strange blood; for that Selymus the second was thought to be supposititious." But Bacon, in his historical authorities, is often inaccurate. I could give half a dozen instances from his Apophthegms only. [See APPENDIX: Don Juan, canto v.] From which the secret nobody could rip: The Public knew no more than does this rhyme; No scandals made the daily press a curse. Morals were better, and the fish no worse. CL. He saw with his own eyes the moon was round, His empire also was without a bound: "T is true, a little troubled here and there, By rebel pachas, and encroaching giaours, But then they never came to "the Seven Towers ;"6 CLI. Except in shape of envoys, who were sent To lodge there when a war broke out, according To the true law of nations, which ne'er meant Those scoundrels, who have never had a sword in Their dirty diplomatic hands, to vent Their spleen in making strife, and safely wording Their lies, yclep'd despatches, without risk or The singeing of a single inky whisker. CLII. He had fifty daughters and four dozen sons, They lived till some Bashaw was sent abroad, When she, whose turn it was, was wed at once, Sometimes at six years old 7-though this seems odd, 'Tis true; the reason is, that the Bashaw Must make a present to his sire in law. CLIII. His sons were kept in prison, till they grew Could yet be known unto the fates alone; Was princely, as the proofs have always shown: So that the heir apparent still was found No less deserving to be hang'd than crown'd. CLIV. His Majesty saluted his fourth spouse With all the ceremonies of his rank, Who clear'd her sparkling eyes and smooth'd her brows, As suits a matron who has play'd a prank; These must seem doubly mindful of their vows, To save the credit of their breaking bank : To no men are such cordial greetings given, As those whose wives have made them fit for heaven. [The state prison of Constantinople, in which the Porte shuts up the ministers of hostile powers who are dilatory in taking their departure, under pretence of protecting them from the insults of the mob. — HOPE. We attempted to visit the Seven Towers, but were stopped at the entrance, and informed that without a firman it was inaccessible to strangers. It was supposed that Count Bulukoff, the Russian minister, would be the last of the Moussafirs, or imperial hostages, confined in this fortress; but since the year 1784, M. Ruffin and many of the French have been imprisoned in the same place; and the dungeons were gaping, it seems, for the sacred persons of the gentlemen composing his Britannic Majesty's mission, previous to the rupture between Great Britain and the Porte in 1809.HOBHOUSE.] 7["The princess" (Sulta Asma, daughter of Achmet III.) "exclaimed against the barbarity of the institution which, at six years old, had put her in the power of a decrepit old man, who, by treating her like a child, had only inspired disgust." DE TOTT.] CLV. His Highness cast around his great black eyes, At which he seem'd no whit surprised nor grieved, But just remark'd with air sedate and wise, While still a fluttering sigh Gulbeyaz heaved, "I see you've bought another girl; 'tis pity That a mere Christian should be half so pretty." CLVI. This compliment, which drew all eyes upon The new-bought virgin, made her blush and shake. Of them his lips imperial ever spake ! 1 [This stanza-which Lord Byron composed in bed, Feb. 27. 1821, is not in the first edition. On discovering the omission, he thus remonstrated with Mr. Murray:-"Upon what principle have you omitted one of the concluding stanzas sent as an addition?-because it ended, I suppose, with — And do not link two virtuous souls for life Now, I must say, once for all, that I will not permit any human being to take such liberties with my writings because I am absent. I desire the omission to be replaced. I have read over the poem carefully, and I tell you, it is poetry. The little envious knot of parson-poets may say what they please: time will show that I am not, in this instance, mistaken."] 2 [Blackwood says, in No. LXV., for June, 1822, "These three Cantos (III. IV. V.) are, like all Byron's poems, and, by the way, like every thing in this world, partly good and partly bad. In the particular descriptions they are not so naughty as their predecessors: indeed, his lordship has been so pretty and well-behaved on the present occasion, that we should not be surprised to hear of the work being detected among the thread-cases, flower-pots, and cheap tracts that litter the drawing-room tables of some of the best regulated families. By those, however, who suspect him of - a strange design Against the creed and morals of the land, it will be found as bad as ever. He shows his knowledge of the world too openly; and it is no extenuation of this freedom that he does it playfully. Only infants can be shown naked in company; but his lordship pulls the very robe-dechambre from both men and women, and goes on with his exposure as smirkingly as a barrister cross-questioning a chamber-maid in a case of crim. con. This, as nobody can approve, we must confess is very bad. Still, it is harsh to ascribe to wicked motives what may be owing to the temptations of circumstances, or the headlong impulse of passion. Even the worst habits should be charitably considered, for they are often the result of the slow but irresistible force of nature, over the artificial manners and discipline of society — the flowing stream that wastes away its embankments. Man towards his fellow-man should be at least compassionate; for he can be no judge of the instincts and the impulses of action, he can only see effects. Spoilt, as a pipe of claret is when prick'd: CLIX. Thus far our chronicle; and now we pause, Though not for want of matter; but 't is time, According to the ancient epic laws, To slacken sail, and anchor with our rhyme. Let this fifth canto meet with due applause, The sixth shall have a touch of the sublime; Meanwhile, as Homer sometimes sleeps, perhaps You'll pardon to my muse a few short naps, Don Juan. PREFACE TO CANTOS VI. VII. AND VIII. THE details of the siege of Ismail in two of the following cantos (i. e. the seventh and eighth) are taken from a French Work, entitled "Histoire de la Nouvelle Russie."4 Some of the incidents attributed to Don Juan really occurred, particularly the circumstance of his saving the infant, which was the actual case of the late Duc de Richelieu 5, then a young volunteer in the Russian service, and afterward the founder and benefactor of Odessa, where Tremble, thou wretch, That hast within thee undivulged crimes, 3 [Cantos VI., VIL, and VIII. were written at Pisa n 1822, and published by Mr. John Hunt in July, 13 The poet's resumption of Don Juan is explained in the following extract from his correspondence: Pisa, July 8. 1822." It is not impossible that I may have three or four cantos of Don Juan ready by autumn, a little later, as I obtained a permission from my dictatress de continue it, provided always it was to be more guarded ad decorous and sentimental in the continuation than in the commencement. How far these conditions have been 1filled may be seen, perhaps, by and by; but the embargo sa only taken off upon these stipulations."] 4["Essai sur l'Histoire ancienne et moderne de la Nes velle Russie, par le Marquis Gabriel de Castelnau." 3 tom Paris, 1820."] 5 [Au commencement de 1803, le Duc de Richelien fot nommé gouverneur d'Odessa. Quand le Duc vint en pre l'administration, aucune rue n'y était formée, aucun ‹tal lissem ment n'y était achevé. On y comptait à peine cinq nuic kabitans: onze ans plus tard, lorsqu'il s'en éloigna, on rea comptait trente-cinq milles. Les rues étaient tirees su es deau, plantées d'une double rang d'arbres; et l'on y ve m tous les établissemens qu'exigent le cuite, l'instruct. a commodité, et même les plaisirs des habitans. Unid fice public avait été négligé; le gouverneur, dans cet oc lui-même, et cette simplicité de mœurs, qui distinguatcnt sm caractère, n'avait rien voulu changer à la modeste bahite m qu'il avait trouvé en arrivant. Le commerce, debarasse i can traves, avait pris l'essor le plus rapide à Odessa, taruis ca la sécurité et la liberté de conscience y avaient promptement attiré la population."- Biog. Univ.] 6 [Odessa is a very interesting place; and being the seat ef government, and the only quarantine allowed except Ca and Taganrog, is, though of very recent erection fro wealthy and flourishing. Too much praise cannot be gua to the Duke of Richelieu, to whose administration, not to any natural advantages, this town owes its prosperity. — Bismut HEBER.] his name and memory can never cease to be regarded with reverence. In the course of these cantos, a stanza or two will be found relative to the late Marquis of Londonderry, but written some time before his decease. Had that person's oligarchy died with him, they would have been suppressed; as it is, I am aware of nothing in the manner of his death or of his life to prevent the free expression of the opinions of all whom his whole existence was consumed in endeavouring to enslave. That he was an amiable man in private life, may or may not be true; but with this the public have nothing to do; and as to lamenting his death, it will be time enough when Ireland has ceased to mourn for his birth. As a minister, I, for one of millions, looked upon him as the most despotic in intention, and the weakest in intellect, that ever tyrannised over a country. It is the first time indeed since the Normans that England has been insulted by a minister (at least) who could not speak English, and that Parliament permitted itself to be dictated to in the language of Mrs. Malaprop. 2 Of the manner of his death little need be said, except that if a poor radical, such as Waddington or Watson, had cut his throat, he would have been buried in a cross-road, with the usual appurtenances of the stake and mallet. But the minister was an elegant lunatic-a sentimental suicide - he merely cut the "carotid artery," (blessings on their learning!) and lo! the pageant, and the Abbey! and “ the syllables of dolour yelled forth" by the newspapers. - I [Robert, second Marquis of Londonderry, died, by his own hand, at his seat at North Cray, in Kent, in August, 1822. During the session of parliament which had just closed, his lordship appears to have sunk under the weight of his labours, and insanity was the consequence. The following tributes to his eminent qualities we take from the leading Tory and Whig newspapers of the day: "Of high honour, fearless, undaunted, and firm in his resolves, he combined, in a remarkable manner, with the fortiter in re the suaviter in modo. To his political adversaries (and he had no other) he was at once open, frank, unassuming, and consequently conciliatory. He was happy in his union with a most amiable consort; he was the pride of a venerated father; and towards a beloved brother it might truly be said he was notus animo fraterno. With regard to his public character, all admit his talents to have been of a high order, and his industry in the discharge of his official duties to have been unremitting. Party animosity may question the wisdom of measures in which he was a principal actor, to save its own consistency, but it does not dare to breathe a doubt of his integrity and honour. His reputation as a minister is, however, above the reach of both friends and enemies. He was one of the leaders of that ministry which preserved the country from being subjugated by a power which subjugated all the rest of Europe - which fought the country against combined Europe, and triumphed - and which wrenched the sceptre of dominion from the desolating principles that the French revolution spread through the world, and restored it to religion and honesty. If to have preserved the faith and liberties of England from destruction to have raised her to the most magnificent point of greatness to have liberated a quarter of the globe from a despotism which bowed down both body and soul and to have placed the world again under the control of national law and just principles, be transcendent fame- such fame belongs to this ministry; and, of all its members, to none more than to the Marquis of Londonderry. During great part of the year, he toiled frequently for twelve or fourteen hours per day at the most exhausting of all kinds of labour, for a salary which, unaided by private fortune, would not have supported him. He laboured for thirty years in the service of the country. In this service he ruined a robust constitution, broke a lofty spirit, destroyed a first-rate understanding, and met an untimely death, without adding a shilling to his patrimonial fortune. What the country gained from him may never be calculated-what he gained from the country was lunacy, and a martyr's grave."-New Times. "Lord Londonderry was a man of unassuming manners, of simple tastes, and (so far as regarded private life) of kind and the harangue of the Coroner 3 in a eulogy over the bleeding body of the deceased—(an Anthony worthy of such a Cæsar)—and the nauseous and atrocious cant of a degraded crew of conspirators against all that is sincere and honourable. In his death he was necessarily one of two things by the law 4-a felon or a madman-and in either case no great subject for panegyric. 5 In his life he was what all the world knows, and half of it will feel for years to come, unless his death prove a "moral lesson" to the surviving Sejani 6 of Europe. It may at least serve as some consolation to the nations, that their oppressors are not happy, and in some instances judge so justly of their own actions as to anticipate the sentence of mankind. Let us hear no more of this man; and let Ireland remove the ashes of her Grattan from the sanctuary of Westminster. Shall the patriot of humanity repose by the Werther of politics !!! With regard to the objections which have been made on another score to the already published cantos of this poem, I shall content myself with two quotations from Voltaire : "La pudeur s'est enfuite des cœurs, et s'est refugiée sur les lèvres."... "Plus les mœurs sont dépravés, plus les expressions deviennent mesurées; on croit regagner en langage ce qu'on a perdu en vertu." This is the real fact, as applicable to the degraded and hypocritical mass which leavens the present English generation, and is the only answer they deserve. The hackneyed and lavished title of Blasphemer - which, with Radical, Liberal, Jacobin, Reformer, and generous disposition. Towards the poor he was beneficent: in his family mild, considerate, and forbearing. He was firm to the connections and associates of his earlier days, not only those of choice, but of accident, when not unworthy; and to promote them, and to advance their interests, his efforts were sincere and indefatigable. In power he forgot no service rendered to him while he was in a private station, nor broke any promise, expressed or implied, nor abandoned any friend who claimed and merited his assistance." Times.] 2 [See Sheridan's comedy of "The Rivals."] 3 [Lord Byron seems to have taken his notions of the proceedings of this inquest from Cobbett's Register. What the Coroner really did say was as follows:-"As a public man, it is impossible for me to weigh his character in any scales that I can hold. In private life I believe the world will admit that a more amiable man could not be found. Whether the important duties of the great office which he held pressed upon his mind, and conduced to the melancholy event which you are assembled to investigate, is a circumstance which, in all probability, never can be discovered. If it should unfortunately appear that there is not sufficient evidence to prove what is generally considered the indication of a disordered mind, I trust that the jury will pay some attention to my humble opinion, which is, that no man can be in his proper senses at the moment he commits so rash an act as self-murder. My opinion is in consonance with every moral sentiment, and the information which the wisest of men have given to the world. The Bible declares that a man clings to nothing so strongly as his own life. I therefore view it as an axiom, and an abstract principle, that a man must necessarily be out of his mind at the moment of destroying himself."] 4 I say by the law of the land—the laws of humanity judge more gently; but as the legitimates have always the law in their mouths, let them here make the most of it. 5 [Upon this passage one of the magazines of the time observes: Lord Byron does not appear to have remembered that it is quite possible for an English nobleman to be both (in fact) a felon, and (what in common parlance is called) a madman."] 6 From this number must be excepted Canning. Canning is a genius, almost a universal one, an orator, a wit, a poet, a statesman; and no man of talent can long pursue the path of his late predecessor, Lord C. If ever man saved his country, Canning can, but will he? I, for one, hope so. &c. are the changes which the hirelings are daily ringing in the ears of those who will listen -should be welcome to all who recollect on whom it was originally bestowed. Socrates and Jesus Christ were put to death publicly as blasphemers, and so have been and may be many who dare to oppose the most notorious abuses of the name of God and the mind of man. But persecution is not refutation, nor even triumph: the "wretched infidel," as he is called, is probably happier in his prison than the proudest of his assailants. With his opinions I have nothing to do they may be right or wrong-but he has suffered for them, and that very suffering for conscience' sake will make more proselytes to deism than the example of heterodox1 Prelates to Christianity, suicide statesmen to oppression, or overpensioned homicides to the impious alliance which insults the world with the name of "Holy!" I have no wish to trample on the dishonoured or the dead; but it would be well if the adherents to the classes from whence those persons sprung should abate a little of the cant which is the crying sin of this doubledealing and false-speaking time of selfish spoilers, and- -but enough for the present. Pisa, July, 1822. CANTO THE SIXTH. I "THERE is a tide in the affairs of men Which, taken at the flood,"-you know the rest 2, And most of us have found it now and then; At least we think so, though but few have guess'd The moment, till too late to come again. But no doubt every thing is for the best Of which the surest sign is in the end: When things are at the worst they sometimes mend. II. There is a tide in the affairs of women Which, taken at the flood, leads-God knows where: Those navigators must be able seamen Whose charts lay down its current to a hair; Not all the reveries of Jacob Behmen 3 With its strange whirls and eddies can compare: Men with their heads reflect on this and that But women with their hearts on heaven knows what! III. And yet a headlong, headstrong, downright she, Young, beautiful, and daring—who would risk A throne, the world, the universe, to be Beloved in her own way, and rather whisk The stars from out the sky, than not be free As are the billows when the breeze is brisk 1 When Lord Sandwich said "he did not know the difference between orthodoxy and heterodoxy," Warburton, the bishop, replied, "Orthodoxy, my lord, is my dory, and heterodoxy is another man's doxy." A prelate of the present day has discovered, it seems, a third kind of doxy, which has not greatly exalted in the eyes of the elect that which Bentham calls Church-of-Englandism." 2 See Shakspeare, Julius Cæsar, act iv. sc. iii. 3 [A noted visionary, born near Görlitz, in Upper Lusatia, in 1575, and founder of the sect called Behmenites. He had numerous followers in Germany, and has not been without admirers in England; one of these, the famous William |