on the other; so that I had no want of attendance. 'I have not yet taken any physician, because, though

I think they may relieve in chronic disorders, such 'as gout and the like, &c. &c. &c. (though they can't 'cure them)-just as surgeons are necessary to set bones and tend wounds-yet I think fevers quite ' out of their reach, and remediable only by diet and

nature.

'I don't like the taste of bark, but I suppose that I 'must take it soon.

'Tell Rose that somebody at Milan (an Austrian, 'Mr. Hoppner says) is answering his book. William 'Bankes is in quarantine at Trieste. I have not lately 'heard from you. Excuse this paper: it is long paper 'shortened for the occasion. What folly is this of 'Carlile's trial? why let him have the honours of a 'martyr? it will only advertise the books in question. 'Yours, &c.

'P.S. As I tell you that the Guiccioli business is

'from Ravenna to fetch me. When he arrived, Lord Byron was ill of a fever, occasioned by his having got wet through;-a violent storm having surprised him while taking his usual exercise on horseback. 'He had been delirious the whole night, and I had watched continually by his bedside. During his delirium he composed a good many verses, and ordered his servant to write them down from his dictation. The rhythm of these verses was quite correct, and the poetry itself had no appearance of being the work of a delirious mind. He preserved them for some time after he got well, and then burned them.- Sul comin'ciare dell' inverno il Conte Guiccioli venne a prendermi per ricondurmi a Ravenna. Quando egli giunse Ld. Byron era ammalato di febbri prese per essersi bagnato avendolo sorpreso un forte temporale mentre 'faceva l'usato suo esercizio a cavallo. Egli aveva delirato tutta la notte, ed io aveva sempre vegliato presso al suo letto. Nel suo delirio egli compose molti versi che ordinò al suo domestico di scrivere sotto la sua dittatura. La misura dei versi era esatissima, e la poesia pure non pareva opera di una mente in delirio. Egli la conservò lungo tempo dopo restabilito - poi l'abbrucciò.'

I have been informed, too, that, during his ravings at this time, he was constantly haunted by the idea of his mother-in-law,-taking every one that came near him for her, and reproaching those about him for letting her enter his room.

' on the eve of exploding in one way or the other, I will 'just add that, without attempting to influence the decision of the Contessa, a good deal depends upon 'it. If she and her husband make it up, you will perhaps see me in England sooner than you expect. If not, I shall retire with her to France or America, change my name, and lead a quiet provincial life. 'All this may seem odd, but I have got the poor girl ' into a scrape; and as neither her birth, nor her rank, ' nor her connexions by birth or marriage are inferior 'to my own, I am in honour bound to support her 'through. Besides, she is very a pretty woman-ask 'Moore and not yet one and twenty.

'If she gets over this and I get over my tertian, I 'will perhaps look in at Albemarle-street, some of 'these days, en passant to Bolivar.'

Venice, November 20th, 1819.

A tertian ague which has troubled me for some 'time, and the indisposition of my daughter, have prevented me from replying before to your welcome letter. I have not been ignorant of your progress 'nor of your discoveries, and I trust that you are no 'worse in health from your labours. You may rely upon finding everybody in England eager to reap 'the fruits of them; and as you have done more than ' other men, I hope you will not limit yourself to saying 'less than may do justice to the talents and time you have bestowed on your perilous researches. The 'first sentence of my letter will have explained to you why I cannot join you at Trieste. I was on the point 'of setting out for England (before I knew of your

arrival) when my child's illness has made her and me dependant on a Venetian Proto-Medico.

'It is now seven years since you and I met;'which time you have employed better for others ' and more honourably for yourself than I have done.

'In England you will find considerable changes 'public and private, you will see some of our old college cotemporaries turned into lords of the treasury, admiralty, and the like,-others become re'formers and orators,-many settled in life, as it is called, and others settled in death; among the lat'ter (by the way, not our fellow collegians), Sheridan, Curran, Lady Melbourne, Monk Lewis, Frederick 'Douglas, &c. &c. &c.; but you will still find Mr. ** living and all his family, as also

*

* *

Should you come up this way, and I am still here, you need not be assured how glad I shall be to see you; I long to hear some part from you, of that ' which I expect in no long time to see. At length you have had better fortune than any traveller of ' equal enterprise (except Humboldt), in returning

safe; and after the fate of the Brownes, and the

Parkes, and the Burckhardts, it is hardly less surprise 'than satisfaction to get you back again.

'Believe me ever

'And very affectionately yours,

'BYRON.'

LETTER 348.

TO MR. MURRAY.

'Venice, December 4th, 1819.

You may do as you please, but you are about a 'hopeless experiment. Eldon will decide against you, were it only that my name is in the record. You 'will also recollect that if the publication is pro

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