cond thoughts in every thing are best, but, in rhyme, third and fourth don't come amiss. I am very anxious on this business, and I do hope that the very trouble I occasion you will plead its own excuse, and that it will tend to show my endea. vour to make the most of the time allotted. I wish I had known it months ago, for in that case I had not left one line standing on another. I always scrawl in this way, and smooth as much as I can, but never sufficiently; and latterly, I can weave a nine-line stanza faster than a couplet, for which measure I have not the cunning. When I began Childe Harold,' I had never tried Spenser's measure, and now I cannot scribble in any other."

September 27th, 1812.

"I have just received your very kind letter, and hope you have met with a second copy corrected and addressed to Holland house, with some omissions and this new couplet,

"As glared each rising flasht, and ghastly shone

The skies with lightnings awful as their own."

"September 27th, 1812.

"I believe this is the third scrawl since yesterday—all about epithets, I think the epithet intellectual' won't convey the meaning I intend; and, though I hate compounds, for the present I will try (col' permesso) the word 'genius-gifted patriarchs of our line‡' instead. Johnson has ́ many-coloured life,' a compound—but they are always best avoided."

September 28th, 1812.

If not, we will say burning' wave, and instead of burning clime,' in the line some couplets back, have' glowing.'

"Will this do?

S the burning?

"Till ebb'd the lava of that molten Swave§,

with 'glowing dome,' in case you prefer 'burning' added to this 'wave' metaphorical. The word' fiery pillar' was suggested by the pillar of fire' in the book of Exodus. which went before the Israelites through the Red Sea. I once thought of saying 'like Israel's pillar,' and making it a simile, but I did not know, the great temptation was leaving the epithet fiery' for the supplementary wave.”

Dear are the days that made our annals bright,

Ere Garrick fled, or Brinsley ceased to write."

At present, "As glared the volumed blaze."

This, as finally altered, is

"Immortal names, emblazon'd on our line." The form of this couplet, as printed, is as follows:"Till blackening ashes and the lonely wall Usurp'd the Muse's realm, and mark'd her fall.”

As it is interesting to know the opinions held by such a man as Byron on his celebrated contemporaries we have collected together the following paragraphs from his Journals and letters :

SHERIDAN.

"In society I have met Sheridan frequently: he was superb! He had a sort of liking for me, and never attacked me, at least to my face, and he did every body else -high names, and wits, and orators, some of them poets also. I have seen him cut up Whitbread, quiz Madame de Staël, annihilate Colman, and do little less by some others (whose names, as friends, I set not down) of good fame and ability.

"In 1815, I had occasion to visit my lawyer in Chancery-lane he was with Sheridan. After mutual greetings, &c., Sheridan retired first. Before recurring to my own business, I could not help inquiring that of Sheridan.

'Oh,' replied the attorney, the usual thing! to stave off an action from his wine-merchant, my cli ent.'—' Well,' said I, and what do you mean to do?' Nothing at all for the present,' said he would you have us proceed against old Sherry? what would be the use of it?' and here he began laughing, and going over Sheridan's good gifts of con versation.

"Now, from personal experience, I can vouch that my attorney is by no means the tenderest of, men, or particularly accessible to any kind of impression out of the statute or record; and yet Sheridan, in half an hour, had found the way to soften and seduce him in such a manner, that I almost think he would have thrown his client (an honest man, with all the law, and some justice, on his side) out of the window, had he come in at the moment."

"Such was Sheridan! he could soften an attorney! There has been nothing like it since the days of Orpheus."

"Lord Holland told me a curious piece of sentimentality in Sheridan. The other night we were all delivering our respective and various opinions on him and other hommes marquans, and mine was this. • Whatever Sheridan has done or chosen to do has been, par excellence, always the best of its kind. He has written the best comedy (School for Scandal), the best drama (in my mind, far before that St. Giles's lampoon, the Beggar's Opera), the best farce (the Critic-it is only too good for a farce), and the best Address (Monologue on Garrick), and, to crown all, delivered the very best Oration (the famous Begum Speech) ever conceived or heard in this country.' Somebody told S. this the next day, and on hearing it, he burst into tears!

"Poor Brinsley! if they were tears of pleasure, I would rather have said these few, but most sincere, words than have written the Iliad or made his own celebrated Philippic. Nay, his own comedy never gratified me more than to hear that he had derived a moment's gratification from any praise of mine, humble as it must appear to my elders and my betters.'"

BURNS.

"Allen (Lord Holland's Allen-the best informed and one of the ablest men I know a perfect Magliabecchi-a devourer, a Helluo of books, and an observer of

men) has lent me a quantity of Burns's unpublished, and never-to-be-published Letters. They are full of oaths and obscene songs. What an antithetical mind!— tenderness, roughness-delicacy, coarseness-sentiment, sensuality-soaring and grovelling, dirt and deity-all mixed up in that one compound of inspired clay!"

CURRAN.

"I have met Curran at Holland-house-he beats every body;-his imagination is beyond human, and his humour (it is difficult to define what is wit) perfect. Then he has fifty faces, and twice as many voices, when be mimics ;-I never met his equal. Now, were I a woman, and eke a virgin, that is the man I should make my Scamander. He is quite fascinating. Remember, I have met him but once; and you, who have known him long, may probably deduct from my panegyric. I almost fear to meet him again, lest the impression should be lowered. He talked a great deal about you-a theme never tiresome to me, nor any body else that I know. What a variety of expression he conjures into that naturally not very fine countenance of his. He absolutely changes it entirely. I have done--for I can't describe him, and you know him."

"I was much struck with the simplicity of Grattan's manners in private life: they were odd, but they were natural. Curran used to take him off, bowing to the very ground, and thanking God that he had no peculiarities of gesture or appearance,' in a way irresistibly ludicrous; and ** used to call him a Sentimental barlequin.'

"Curran ! Curran's the man who struck me most. Such imagination! there never was any thing like it that ever I saw or heard of. His published life-his published speeches, give you no idea of the man-none at all. He was a machine of imagination, as some one said that Piron was an epigrammatic machine.

"I did not see a great deal of Curran-only in 1813; but I met him at home (for he used to call on me), and in society, at Mackintosh's, Holland House, &c. &c. and he was wonderful even to me who had seen many remarkable men of the time."

MADAME DE STAEL.

"Madame de Staël's personal appearance was not bad; her legs tolerable; her arms good. Altogether, I can conceive her having been a desirable woman, allowing a little imagination for her soul, and so forth. She would have made a great man.'

"More notes from Mad. de * unanswered-and so they shall remain. I admire her abilities, but really her society is overwhelming an avalanche that buries one in glittering nonsense-all snow and sophistry."

"I do not love Madame de Staël, but, depend upon it, she beats all your natives hollow as an authoress, in my opinion; and I would not say this if I could help it."

WORDSWORTH,

"There must be many 'fine things' in Wordsworth; but I should think it difficult to make six quartos (the amount of the whole) all fine, particularly the pedlar's por tion of the poem; but there can be no doubt of his powers to do almost any thing.”

MACKINTOSH.

"Sunday, a very handsome note from Mackintosh, who is a rare instance of the union of very transcendent talent and great good-nature."

KEAN.

"Just returned from seeing Kean in Richard. By Jove, he is a soul! Lifenature-truth-without exaggeration or diminution. Kemble's Hamlet is perfect;but Hamlet is not Nature. Richard is a man; and Kean is Richard."

SCOTT.

"George Ellis and Murray have been talking something about Scott and me, George pro Scoto, and very right too. If they want to depose him, I only wish they would not set me up as a competitor. Even if I had my choice, I would rather be the Earl of Warwick than all the kings he ever made! Jeffrey and Gifford I take to be the monarch-makers in poetry and prose. The British Critic, in their Rokeby Review, have presupposed a comparison, which I am sure my friends never thought of, and W. Scott's subjects are injudicious in descending to. I like the man-and admire his works to what Mr. Braham calls Entusymusy. All such stuff can only vex him, and do me no good. Many hate his politics-(I hate all politics); and, here, a man's politics are like the Greek soul-an ɛidwλov, be. sides God knows what other soul; but their estimate of the two generally go together."

"I have not answered W. Scott's last letter,- but I will. I regret to hear from others that he has lately been unfortunate in pecuniary involvements. He is undoubtedly the Monarch of Parnassus, and the most English of bards.”

ROGERS.

Rogers is silent, and, it is said, severe. When he does talk, he talks well; and, on all subjects of taste, his delicacy of expression is pure as his poetry. If you enter his house his drawing room—his library—you of yourself say, this is not the dwelling of a common mind. There is not a gem, a coin, a book thrown aside on his chimney-piece, his sofa, his table, that does not bespeak an almost fastidious elegance in the possessor. But this very delicacy must be the misery of his existence. Oh the jarrings his disposition must have encountered through life!"

"Redde the Ed. Review of Rogers. He is ranked highly,-but where he should be. There is a summary view of us all-Moore and me among the rest; and both (the first justly) praised-though, by implication (justly again) placed beneath our memorable friend. Mackintosh is the writer, and also of the critique on the Staël. His grand essay on Burke, I hear, is for the next number."

"I have been reading Memory again, the other day, and Hope together, and retain all my preference of the former. His elegance is really wonderful.there is no such thing as a vulgar line in his book."

SOUTHEY.

"

Southey, I have not seen much of. His appearance is Epic; and he is the only existing entire man of letters. All the others have some pursuit annexed to their authorship. His manners are mild, but not those of a man of the world, and his talents of the first order. His prose is perfect. Of his poetry there are various opinions there is, perhaps, too much of it for the present generation ;-posterity will probably select. He has passages equal to any thing. At present, he has a party, but no public-except for his prose writings. The life of Nelson is beauti

ful."

MOORE.

"M

e has a peculiarity of talent, or rather talents,-poetry, music, voice, all his own; and an expression in each, which never was, nor will be, possesse by another. But he is capable of still higher flights in poetry. By the by, what humour, what-every thing in the Post-Bag!' There is nothing M** e may not do, if he will but seriously set about it. In society, he is gentlemanly, gentle, and altogether more pleasing than any individual with whom I am acquainted. For his honour, principle, and independence, his conduct to * speaks trumpettongued.' He has but one fault-and that one I daily regret, he is not here."

LEIGH HUNT.

· *

Wednesday, Dec. 1st, 1813.

"To-day responded to La Baronne de Staël Holstein, and sent to Leigh Hunt (an acquisition to my acquaintance-through Moore--of last summer) a copy of the two Turkish Tales. Hunt is an extraordinary character, and not exactly of the present age. He reminds me more of the Pym and Hampden times-much talent, great independence of spirit, and an austere, yet not repulsive, aspect. If he goes on qualis ab incepto, I know few men who will deserve more praise or obtain it. I must go and see him again;-the rapid succession of adventure since last summer, added to some serious uneasiness and business, have interrupted our acquaintance; but he is a man worth knowing; and though, for his own sake, I wish him out of priI like to study character in such situations. He has been unshaken, and will continue so. I don't think him deeply versed in life ;—he is the bigot of virtue (not religion), and enamoured of the beauty of that

son,

empty name,' as the last breath of Brutus pronounced, and every day proves it. He is, perhaps, a little opiniated, as all men who are the centre of circles, wide or narrow-the Sir Oracles, in whose name two or three are gathered together-must be, and as even Johnson was; but, withal, a valuable man, and less vain than success and even the consciousness of preferring the right to the expedient' might excuse."

JEFFREY.

In the beginning of the article on

"Redde the Edinburgh 44, just come out. 'Edgeworth's Patronage,' I have gotten a high compliment, I perceive. Whether this is creditable to me, I know not; but it does honour to the editor, because he once abused me. Many a man will retract praise; none but a high-spirited mind will revoke its censure, or can praise the man it has once attacked. I have often