Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 3: With His Letters and JournalsMoore, Thomas
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Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 3: With His Letters and Journals
Moore, Thomas
Byron, George Gordon Byron, Baron, 1788-1824; Poets, English -- 19th century -- Biography
The route which he now took, through Flanders and by the Rhine, is best
traced in his own matchless verses, which leave a portion of their glory
on all that they touch, and lend to scenes, already clothed with
immortality by nature and by history, the no less durable associations
of undying song. On his leaving Brussels, an incident occurred which
would be hardly worth relating, were it not for the proof it affords of
the malicious assiduity with which every thing to his disadvantage was
now caught up and circulated in England. Mr. Pryce Gordon, a gentleman,
who appears to have seen a good deal of him during his short stay at
Brussels, thus relates the anecdote:--
"Lord Byron travelled in a huge coach, copied from the celebrated one of
Napoleon, taken at Genappe, with additions. Besides a _lit de repos_, it
contained a library, a plate-chest, and every apparatus for dining in
it. It was not, however, found sufficiently capacious for his baggage
and suite; and he purchased a caleche at Brussels for his servants. It
broke down going to Waterloo, and I advised him to return it, as it
seemed to be a crazy machine; but as he had made a deposit of forty
Napoleons (certainly double its value), the honest Fleming would not
consent to restore the cash, or take back his packing case, except under
a forfeiture of thirty Napoleons. As his Lordship was to set out the
following day, he begged me to make the best arrangement I could in the
affair. He had no sooner taken his departure, than the worthy _sellier_
inserted a paragraph in 'The Brussels Oracle,' stating 'that the noble
_milor Anglais_ had absconded with his caleche, value 1800 francs!'"
In the Courier of May 13., the Brussels account of this transaction is
thus copied:--
"The following is an extract from the Dutch Mail, dated Brussels, May
8th,:--In the Journal de Belgique, of this date, is a petition from a
coachmaker at Brussels to the president of the Tribunal de Premier
Instance, stating that he has sold to Lord Byron a carriage, &c. for
1882 francs, of which he has received 847 francs, but that his Lordship,
who is going away the same day, refuses to pay him the remaining 1035
francs; he begs permission to seize the carriage, &c. This being granted,
he put it into the hands of a proper officer, who went to signify the
above to Lord Byron, and was informed by the landlord of the hotel that
his Lordship was gone without having given him any thing to pay the
debt, on which the officer seized a chaise belonging to his Lordship as
security for the amount."
It was not till the beginning of the following month that a
contradiction of this falsehood, stating the real circumstances of the
case, as above related, was communicated to the Morning Chronicle, in a
letter from Brussels, signed "Pryce L. Gordon."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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