[66] [_Margaret of Anjou_, by Margaret Holford, 1816.]
[67] [_Ilderim, a Syrian Tale_, by H. Gaily Knight, 1816.]
VERSICLES.
I READ the "Christabel;"[68]
Very well: I read the "Missionary;"[69]
Pretty--very: I tried at "Ilderim;"
Ahem!
I read a sheet of "Marg"ret of _Anjou_;"
_Can you_?
I turned a page of Webster"s "Waterloo;"[70]
Pooh! pooh!
I looked at Wordsworth"s milk-white "Rylstone Doe;"[71]
Hillo!
I read "Glenarvon," too, by Caro Lamb;[72]
G.o.d d.a.m.n!
March 25, 1817.
[First published, _Letters and Journals_, 1830, ii. 87.]
FOOTNOTES:
[68] [_Christabel, etc._, by S.T. Coleridge, 1816.]
[69] [_The Missionary of the Andes, a Poem_, by W.L. Bowles, 1815.]
[70] [_Waterloo and other Poems_, by J. Wedderburn Webster, 1816.]
[71] [_The White Doe of Rylstone, or the Fate of the Nortons, a Poem_, by W. Wordsworth, 1815.]
[72] [_Glenarvon, a Novel_ [by Lady Caroline Lamb], 1816.]
QUEM DEUS VULT PERDERE PRIUS DEMENTAT.[73]
G.o.d maddens him whom"t is his will to lose, And gives the choice of death or phrenzy--choose.
[First published, _Letters_, 1900, iv. 93.]
FOOTNOTES:
[73] [_a propos_ of Maturin"s tragedy, _Manuel_ (_vide post_, p. 48, _note_ 1), Byron "does into English" the Latin proverb by way of contrast to the text, "Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth; blessed be the Name of the Lord" (Letter to Murray, April 2, 1817).]
TO THOMAS MOORE.
1.
My boat is on the sh.o.r.e, And my bark is on the sea; But, before I go, Tom Moore, Here"s a double health to thee!
2.
Here"s a sigh to those who love me, And a smile to those who hate; And, whatever sky"s above me, Here"s a heart for every fate.
3.
Though the Ocean roar around me, Yet it still shall bear me on; Though a desert shall surround me, It hath springs that may be won.
4.
Were"t the last drop in the well, As I gasped upon the brink, Ere my fainting spirit fell, "T is to thee that I would drink.
5.
With that water, as this wine, The libation I would pour Should be--peace with thine and mine, And a health to thee, Tom Moore.[74]
July, 1817.
[First published, _Waltz_, London, W. Benbow, 1821, p. 29.]
FOOTNOTES:
[74] ["This should have been written fifteen months ago; the first stanza was."--Letter to Moore, July 10, 1817.]
EPISTLE FROM MR. MURRAY TO DR. POLIDORI.[75]
DEAR Doctor, I have read your play, Which is a good one in its way,-- Purges the eyes, and moves the bowels, And drenches handkerchiefs like towels With tears, that, in a flux of grief, Afford hysterical relief To shattered nerves and quickened pulses, Which your catastrophe convulses.
I like your moral and machinery; Your plot, too, has such scope for Scenery! 10 Your dialogue is apt and smart; The play"s concoction full of art; Your hero raves, your heroine cries, All stab, and every body dies.
In short, your tragedy would be The very thing to hear and see: And for a piece of publication, If I decline on this occasion, It is not that I am not sensible To merits in themselves ostensible, 20 But--and I grieve to speak it--plays Are drugs--mere drugs, Sir--now-a-days.
I had a heavy loss by _Manuel_--[76]
Too lucky if it prove not annual,-- And Sotheby, with his _Orestes_,[77]
(Which, by the way, the old Bore"s best is), Has lain so very long on hand, That I despair of all demand; I"ve advertised, but see my books, Or only watch my Shopman"s looks;-- 30 Still _Ivan_, _Ina_,[78] and such lumber, My back-shop glut, my shelves enc.u.mber.
There"s Byron too, who once did better, Has sent me, folded in a letter, A sort of--it"s no more a drama Than _Darnley_, _Ivan_, or _Kehama_; So altered since last year his pen is, I think he"s lost his wits at Venice.
In short, Sir, what with one and t" other, I dare not venture on another. 40 I write in haste; excuse each blunder; The Coaches through the street so thunder!
My room"s so full--we"ve Gifford here Reading MS., with Hookham Frere, p.r.o.nouncing on the nouns and particles, Of some of our forthcoming Articles.