It was at this time, also, that Byron thought that the 'Epistle to Augusta'--sent to Murray on August 28--had better not be published. It did not, in fact, see the light until 1830. Lady Byron's conduct in this business affected him profoundly, and his feelings towards her changed completely. He was also angry with Augusta for a time, and told her that it was 'on her account principally that he had given way at all and signed the separation, for he thought they would endeavour to drag her into it, although they had no business with anything previous to his marriage with that infernal fiend, whose destruction he should yet see.'[59] In spite of Lady Byron's prejudice against Mrs. Leigh, as time went on she gradually realized that her sister-in-law's so-called 'confession' was not consistent either with her known disposition, her reputation in society, or with her general conduct. In order to satisfy her conscience, Lady Byron, in April, 1851, arranged a meeting with Mrs. Leigh at Reigate. Clearly, it was Lady Byron's purpose to obtain a full confession from Mrs. Leigh of the crime which she had long suspected. Lady Byron came to Reigate accompanied by the Rev. Frederick Robertson of Brighton, who happened then to be her spiritual adviser. This time Augusta Leigh's 'confession' was to be made before an unimpeachable witness, who would keep a record of what passed. It deeply mortified Lady Byron to find that Mrs. Leigh--far from making any 'confession'--appeared before her in 'all the pride of innocence,' and, after saying that she had always been loyal to Byron and his wife, and had never tried to keep them apart, told Lady Byron that Hobhouse--who was still living--had expressed his opinion that Lady Byron had every reason to be grateful to Mrs. Leigh; for she not only risked the loss of property, but what was much dearer to her, Byron's affection.[60] Alas, the bubble had burst! The _confession_, upon which the peace of Lady Byron's conscience depended, was transformed into an avowal of innocence, which no threats could shake, no arguments could weaken, and no reproaches divert. CHAPTER II It is because 'Astarte' is a pretentious and plausible record of fallacies that the present writer feels bound to take note of its arguments. In order to avoid circumlocution and tedious excursions over debatable ground, we will assume that the reader is tolerably well acquainted with literature relating to the separation of Lord and Lady Byron.