When Lord Byron came to dine with us on Thursday, he arrived an hour before the usual time, and appeared in good spirits. He said that he found the passages and stairs filled with people, who stared at him very much; but he did not seem vexed at this homage, for so it certainly was meant, as the Albergo della Ville, where we resided, being filled with English, all were curious to see their distinguished countryman. He was very gay at dinner, ate of most of the dishes, expressed pleasure at partaking of a plum pudding, _à l'Anglaise_, made by one of our English servants; was helped twice, and observed, that he hoped he should not shock us by eating so much: "But," added he, "the truth is, that for several months I have been following a most abstemious _régime_, living almost entirely on vegetables; and now that I see a good dinner, I cannot resist temptation, though to-morrow I shall suffer for my gormandize, as I always do when I indulge in luxuries." He drank three glasses of champagne, saying, that as he considered it a _jour de fête_, he would eat, drink, and be merry. He talked of Mr. ----, who was then our Minister at Genoa. "H----," said he, "is a thorough good-natured and hospitable man, keeps an excellent table, and is as fond of good things as I am, but has not my forbearance. I received, some time ago, a _Pâté de Perigord_, and finding it excellent, I determined on sharing it with H----; but here my natural selfishness suggested that it would be wiser for me, who had so few dainties, to keep this for myself, than to give it to H----, who had so many. After half an hour's debate between selfishness and generosity, which do you think" (turning to me) "carried the point?"--I answered, "Generosity, of course."--"No, by Jove!" said he, "no such thing; selfishness in this case, as in most others, triumphed; I sent the _pâté_ to my friend H----, because I felt another dinner off it would play the deuce with me; and so you see, after all, he owed the _pâté_ more to selfishness than generosity." Seeing us smile at this, he said:--"When you know me better, you will find that I am the most selfish person in the world; I have, however, the merit, if it be one, of not only being perfectly conscious of my faults, but of never denying them; and this surely is something, in this age of cant and hypocrisy."