'I must observe upon one passage of your letter that I _had_ (_sic_) expectations of personal violence, though I was too miserable to have _feelings_ of fear, and those expectations would now be still stronger. 'In regard to any change which the future state of Lord B.'s mind might justify in my intentions, an amicable arrangement would not destroy the opening for reconciliation. Pray endeavour to promote the dispositions to such an arrangement; there is every reason to desire it. 'Yours very truly, 'A. I. BYRON.' It is worthy of note that Lady Byron, _two days after her interview with Lushington_, here states that, in the event of 'an amicable arrangement' (an amicable separation) being arrived at, it would not destroy the opening for reconciliation. This is an extraordinary statement, because, as we have seen, Dr. Lushington absolutely declined to be a party to any such step. On March 14 Lady Byron signed a declaration, giving her reasons for the separation, as will be seen presently. On March 16 Augusta Leigh returned to her apartments in St. James's Palace, and on the following day Byron consented to a separation from his wife. On April 8 Lady Jersey gave a party in honour of Byron, and to show her sympathy for him in his matrimonial troubles. Both Byron and Augusta were present, but it was a cold and spiritless affair, and nothing came of this attempt to stem the tide of prejudice. On April 14 Augusta parted for ever from her brother, and retired into the country, her health broken down by the worry and anxiety of the past three months. On April 21 and 22, 1816, the deed of separation was signed by both Lord and Lady Byron. On April 23 Byron left London, and travelled to Dover accompanied by his friends Hobhouse and Scrope-Davies. On the 25th he embarked for Ostend, unable to face the consequences of his quarrel with his wife. 'To his susceptible temperament and generous feelings,' says his schoolfellow Harness, 'the reproach of having ill-used a woman must have been poignant in the extreme. It was repulsive to his chivalrous character as a gentleman; it belied all he had written of the devoted fervour of his attachments; and rather than meet the frowns and sneers which awaited him in the world, as many a less sensitive man might have done, he turned his back on them and fled.' CHAPTER III The publication of 'Astarte' has had one good result; it has placed beyond question the precise nature of Lady Byron's complaints against her husband. On March 14, 1816, Lady Byron was induced by Dr. Lushington to draw up and sign a statement which would be useful if her conduct should at any future time be criticized. We place the entire document before the reader, just as it appears in Lord Lovelace's book: 'STATEMENT.--A. L. 'In case of my death to be given to Colonel Doyle. A. I. BYRON, Thursday, March 14, 1816.'