The poem, that is, two Cantos of it, was published March 1, 1812, in an edition of five hundred copies, which were all sold in three days. We hear from Elizabeth, Duchess of Devonshire, that "the subject of conversation, of curiosity, of enthusiasm, almost, one might say, of the moment is not Spain, or Portugal, Warriors or Patriots, but Lord Byron!" "He returned," she continues, "sorry for the severity of some of his lines (in the _English Bards_), and with a new poem, _Childe Harold_, which he published. This poem is on every table, and himself courted, visited, flattered, and praised whenever he appears. He has a pale, sickly, but handsome countenance, a bad figure, and, in short, he is really the only topic almost of every conversation--the men jealous of him, the women of each other." Thomas Davison, the printer of the book, was also responsible for many of the volumes of Campbell, Moore and Wordsworth, but he is known chiefly for his fine edition of Whitaker's _History of Richmondshire_, Rogers's _Italy_, and Dugdale's _Monasticon Anglicanum_. Timperley speaks of the singular beauty and correctness of his works, which brought about him a "connection" of the most respectable publishers of the day, and he adds: "By improvements which he made in printing ink, (a secret of which he had for a long time the exclusive possession) and other merits, he acquired great celebrity; and few indeed of his competitors, could approach the characters of what issued from his press." "For equal accuracy and beauty, let the palm be extended to Davison and Moyes," cries Mr. Dibdin in _The Bibliographical Decameron_. In a note he adds: "Mr. Davison is both an excellent and an elegant printer. His _Gil Blas_, published by Messrs. Longman, Hurst, and Co. is quite worthy of the beautiful engravings with which that edition is adorned: but his _Arabian Nights_, by Scott, 1811, in 6 octavo volumes, is, to my eye, a more exquisite performance." Early in their intercourse Murray had said to Byron: "Could I flatter myself that these suggestions were not obtrusive, I would hazard another, in an earnest solicitation that your lordship would add the two promised Cantos, and complete the _Poem_." But the volume containing the third Canto was not issued until 1816, when Murray paid £2000 for it. The fourth Canto, in a much thicker volume, came out two years afterward, and for this £2100 were received by the poet. The second volume sold for 5s. 6d., and the last for 12s. Byron must have carried his point about the size, for these last volumes were issued in octavo. Quarto. COLLATION: _vi pp., 1 l., 226 pp. Facsimile._ * Alluding to Gil Blas and the Archbishop of Grenada. JANE AUSTEN (1775-1817)