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THE 
 
 LAST DAYS 
 
 OF 
 
 LORD BYRON: 
 
 WITH HIS 
 
 LORDSHIP'S OPINIONS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, 
 
 PARTICULARLY ON THE 
 
 STATE AND PROSPECTS OF GREECE. 
 
 BY WILLIAM PARRY, 
 
 MAJOR OF LORD BYRON'S BRIGADE, COMMANDING OFFICER OF ARTILLERY, 
 AND ENGINEER IN THE SERVICE OF THE GREEKS. 
 
 Lord Byron awoke in half an hour. I wished to go to him, but I had not the heart 
 Mr Parry went, and Byron knew him again, and squeezed his hand, and tried to 
 express his last wishes." Count Gamba's Narrative. 
 
 LONDON: 
 PRINTED FOR KNIGHT AND LACBY, 
 
 PATERNOSTER-ROW ; 
 
 AND WESTLEY AND TYRRELL, DUBLIN. 
 
 MDCCCXXV. 
 
ff %% 
 
 Hi 
 
 x c 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 RINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES, 
 
 Northumberland-court. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The only object I have in view, in sitting- 
 down to write a Preface, is to tell the 
 reader why I have written a book. The 
 great curiosity which is still, and must long 
 be felt with regard to every part of the late 
 Lord Byron's conduct, almost justifies any 
 person coming before the public who can 
 communicate any information concerning 
 him. But although I was acquainted with 
 him during the most ennobling, and perhaps 
 the most humiliating period of his existence, 
 when all the energies of his manly character 
 were exerted in anexcellent cause, and when 
 he was cut off from the common conveniences 
 and common enjoyments of life, when he 
 
 16' 
 
vl PREFACE. 
 
 was adored by the Greeks, admired by some 
 and censured by others of his countrymen, 
 for the sacrifice he was making ; and although 
 I was his chief agent for carrying into exe- 
 cution all his plans for the benefit of Greece, 
 and the confidant of his last wishes and in- 
 tentions, I am so conscious of my inability 
 adequately to describe what I witnessed, 
 that the mere idea of gratifying public cu- 
 riosity would not have influenced me to have 
 appeared in the character of an author ; and 
 I should not have stepped forward, had I not 
 been also compelled in my own vindication, 
 and in the vindication of him whose fame 
 must be dear to every one of his country- 
 men. Lord Byron's conduct in Greece has 
 been attacked, in the book which Colonel 
 Stanhope published on that country ; it has 
 also been attacked in the London Magazine, 
 for October, 1824 ; and as I was with him at 
 the time, or immediately afterwards, when 
 the coolness existed betwixt him and Colonel 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 Stanhope, I may hope, by publishing an 
 account of what I saw and know, not only 
 to furnish the reader with some curious de- 
 tails relative to the latter days of Lord By- 
 ron, but also to vindicate his memory from 
 some unjust aspersions. 
 
 During the last two months of his exist- 
 ence, there was no person in whom he placed 
 more confidence than in me. I was employed 
 by him to carry his designs into execution ; 
 I was intrusted with the management of his 
 funds, and made the depositary of his wishes. 
 I lived under the same roof with him, was 
 his confidential agent, and was honoured by 
 being made his companion. As far as I 
 have seen the accounts which have been 
 published of his situation in Greece, there 
 are some inaccuracies, and many omissions 
 in them all. The people of Great Britain 
 have never been told, as it appears to me, 
 of the numerous privations, the great neg- 
 
V1U TREFACE. 
 
 lect and the endless vexations to which Lord 
 Byron fell a victim. Neither his physician, 
 who should have guarded against many of 
 these evils ; his personal friends, who should 
 have shielded him from others ; nor that par- 
 ticular person, who was the cause of much 
 of his perplexity, has described, or is ever 
 likely to describe, all the circumstances of 
 Lord Byron's situation in Greece. They fell 
 under my observation, however, as well as 
 under theirs ; the reasons for their silence do 
 not apply to me, and I have therefore felt 
 myself in some measure called on to write 
 an accurate account of Lord Byron's situa- 
 tion and sufferings. There are so many 
 motives operating on other persons, either 
 to make them preserve silence, or misrepre- 
 sent facts, that unless I state them cor- 
 rectly, it is probable the public will never 
 hear of them from many other quarter. 
 
 The confidence Lord Byron honoured me 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 with, has made those persons who opposed 
 him in Greece, and who have calumniated him 
 since his death, also select me as an object 
 of remark. Lord Byron has been attacked 
 both in his own person, and through me. His 
 exertions, and my exertions under his di- 
 rections, have been cancelled, contrary to 
 his declared wishes and commands made 
 known through me, contrary also to the 
 prayers and entreaties of Prince Mavrocor- 
 dato, and contrary-, I believe, to the best in- 
 terests of Greece. Most of the persons who 
 are acquainted with all these circumstances 
 have some motives, either of interest or par- 
 tiality, which will for ever prevent them 
 from doing justice to Lord Byron and to me. 
 I must either sit still, therefore, under accu- 
 sations injurious both to Lord Byron and 
 myself, or, however unwillingly, bring the 
 matter before the public. Though per- 
 fectly unaccustomed to writing, I have re- 
 solved on the latter, trusting to the indul- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 gence of the public to pardon a multitude of 
 faults for the sake of him who is now more ; 
 and for the sake of public justice. My fel- 
 low-countrymen are too generous, and too 
 much interested for the Greeks, not to re- 
 ceive with more favour than it merits, a 
 work which describes in what manner and 
 under what circumstances Byron fell a victim 
 to his zeal in the Greek cause, and which 
 points out some circumstances arising from 
 the conduct of its pretended friends which 
 have retarded its final triumph. 
 
 The little interest which the work may 
 possess, it derives solely from him whose 
 untimely fate it describes. Even the anec- 
 dotes of other persons contained in the vo- 
 lume are of little value, but as throwing 
 some light on his character, or from the 
 comments and remarks he made on them. 
 On the theme, destined as Lord Byron is to 
 live " as long as his land's tongue,'' and not 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 on the writer, must the work depend for. 
 either popularity or dignity. I disclaim all 
 merit except that of being a correct re- 
 porter of what I saw, and of what I know 
 Lord Byron's opinions to have been. I aim 
 at nothing but accuracy ; and I expect 
 praise for no other quality. 
 
 It is right I should mention, that from the 
 time of my leaving England till I left Greece, 
 I kept a journal of our military operations. 
 A few days also before Lord Byron's death, 
 I drew up by his command a report of all 
 our proceedings up to that period. These 
 two documents, together with letters written 
 to my friends, copies of which I have pre- 
 served; letters written to my employers the 
 Greek Committee, and letters from various 
 persons in Greece, form the basis of my nar- 
 rative. None of Lord Byron's conversations 
 with me, however, were recorded in any of 
 these documents, which relate solely to mili- 
 
 b 2 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 tary and financial matters. Neither were 
 any of the incidents mentioned in the book 
 as having occurred to Lord Byron in Greece, 
 his manner of living, or his various occupa- 
 tions and opinions, recorded at the time. I 
 did not, like some of Lord Byron s friends, 
 speculate on his death ; nor, till I saw the de- 
 mand there was for information, did it ever 
 occur to me that such minute matters would 
 be of any public interest. They made a 
 powerful impression on me at the moment ; 
 and though not written down, have been 
 vividly and, I trust, accurately remembered. 
 These I have, therefore, stated from recollec- 
 tion. Owing to these circumstances, the book 
 consists in a manner of two parts ; the first 
 is a narrative, in the form of a journal, and 
 the other is Lord Byron's opinions, or circum- 
 stances connected with him, arranged under 
 different heads. What the work may on this 
 account want in uniformity of design, will I 
 trust be more than compensated by the greater 
 
PREFACE, X1U 
 
 authenticity it will derive from this arrange- 
 ment. As I am on many accounts unable to 
 give Lord Byron's words ; and as many of 
 his conversations with me related to the 
 same subjects in which he repeated the 
 same opinions, I have also been able by this 
 means to avoid repetition, and to present his 
 remarks more condensed than they could 
 have been, if given in the form of repeated 
 and desultory conversations. 
 
 I have now, I think, said all which it is ne- 
 cessary for me to tell the reader in this 
 place. I am sure the book must afford him 
 some pleasure, if I have been able to convey 
 into its pages only a very small part of that 
 amusement and instruction Lord Byron knew 
 how to extract from every topic. To me he 
 was a kind friend, as well as a most instruc- 
 tive companion ; and I shall be perfectly sa- 
 tisfied, should the reader only receive from 
 the book the tenth part of the pleasure I 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 derived from my brief acquaintance with 
 Lord Byron. Knowing him was for me a 
 source of satisfaction unmingled with one 
 regret, except that my acquaintance with 
 him began so late, and was terminated so 
 soon and so fatally. 
 
 WILLIAM PARRY. 
 
 London, April 25th. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Voyage to Greece. — First Interview with Lord 
 Byron. 
 
 Public Meeting in London in behalf of the Greeks — My ser- 
 vices engaged by Mr. Gordon — His generous offer — Unac- 
 countable delay of the Committee — Mr. Gordon retracts — 
 Formation of a small Brigade — Terms of my agreement- 
 Sail from the River — Arrival at Malta — Delay there, and at 
 Corfu — Arrival at Dragomestri — Send the Stores to Missolon- 
 ghi — Arrival there — Meeting with Colonel Stanhope — Take 
 up my Quarters in Lord Byron's House — Introduction to Lord 
 Byron — His kind manner, and warm reception of me — His 
 appearance — Furniture of his room — Conversation. . Page 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Lord Byron's Situation in Greece. — His First 
 
 Illness. 
 
 First labours in Greece — Lord Byron wholly occupied with 
 the affairs of that country — Is surrounded with difficulties! 
 
XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 — His complaints of delay and disappointment — Offended with 
 Mr. Blaquiere's treatment — Has no friends in Greece — Supplies 
 money for the Brigade — The arsenal is paved — Prince Mav- 
 rocordato asks money of Lord Byron — The Prince's treatment 
 of me — Conduct of the foreign officers — Are a great burthen 
 to Lord Byron— One of them resigns his commission — Lord 
 Byron does not agree with Colonel Stanhope— His objections 
 to establishing a newspaper— Complete the removal of the 
 Stores — Immoderate expectations of the Greeks— Death of Sir 
 Thomas Maitland — Opinions as to his government — Find some 
 of the Stores damaged — Alterations necessary in the guns — 
 Applications to Lord Byron for pecuniary assistance — His 
 opinion of Mavrocordato — His Lordship's confidence in me in- 
 creases — He becomes my pupil — Gives me the control over his 
 expenditure — Weekly expense — Difficulty in obtaining money 
 —Lord Byron's first illness — Treatment by the doctors. 22. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Death of Lieutenant Sass. 
 
 Plan for fortifying Missolonghi — Lord Byron's method of 
 paying the expense — Dissensions— Method of the Greeks to get 
 money from Lord Byron — Source of the dispute between Byron 
 and Stanhope — Hopes of capturing a Turkish brig of war — Lord 
 Byron's humane orders and rewards as to the prisoners — The 
 brig destroyed— Negligence of the Greeks in preparing for their 
 defence — Proposal for having gun-boats — Lieutenant Sass en- 
 ters the Hellenic Legion— Taken prisoner— His sufferings— 
 
CONTENTS. Xvii 
 
 Is released by an English gentleman — Returns home — Sent 
 out to Missolonghi by the Greek Committee — Appointed a 
 Lieutenant in Lord Byron's Brigade — His death — Meeting of 
 the Suliote chiefs at Lord Byron's — The mechanics frightened 
 — Resolve to leave Greece — Receive money to return to 
 England — Sum they cost the Greek Committee — Work they 
 performed. .... ... ,47. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Lord Byron as General and Commissioner. 
 
 Mutiny among the Suliotes — The mechanics embark for 
 Zante — Shock of an Earthquake — Superstitious custom of the 
 Greeks — Mutiny amongst the Germans — Lord Byron's Corps 
 disbanded — Is re-organized — Business of the Laboratory — Lord 
 Byron's Suliote guard — His dog Lyon— His guard attend him 
 in his rides — Specimen of the state of Missolonghi — Lord 
 Byron's daily occupations — His food, and manner of living — His 
 partiality to curious weapons — State of the weather — Requisi- 
 tions by Ulysses and General Londa — Improper articles in 
 Newspapers — Colonel Stanhope goes to Athens — His requisi- 
 tions — Proceedings in March — An alarm of plague — Discipline 
 of the Brigade — Must pay the Greeks for doing their own work 
 — Divisions among the Greek chieftains — Lord Byron invited 
 to quit Missolonghi — Colocotroni wishes to get him into the 
 Morea— Opposing views of Mavrocordato — His hopes of effect- 
 ing a union of the chiefs— Prospect of a Congress at Salona— 
 Lord Byron obliged again to interfere about a Newspaper — 
 
XVlll CONTENTS. 
 
 Receives the freedom of Missolonghi — Numerous applications 
 to him for money — Further defence of Missolonghi — Desertions 
 from Colocotroni's forces— News of the Greek loan — Plan 
 for the campaign — Difficulties of Lord Byron's situation in 
 Greece. . ...... 58. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Second Illness, and Death of Lord Byron. 
 
 Weather in April — Attack on Missolonghi, by Cariascachi — 
 Misconduct of our soldiers — Duels — A spy in Lord Byron's 
 household — Endeavours to estrange Lord Byron from Mavro- 
 cordato — Conduct of some Englishmen — Rumour of breaking 
 up the establishment at Missolonghi — Irritation of Lord Byron 
 — Is prevented leaving Missolonghi — News of the loan — Lord 
 Byron rides out for the last time — My opportunities of being 
 with Lord Byron — Opportunities enjoyed by others — Count 
 Gamba — Fletcher — Dr. Bruno — Deplorable state and confusion 
 of Lord Byron's household — Proofs of the authenticity of the 
 Narrative — Lord Byron seriously ill — Agrees to leave Misso- 
 longhi — Preparations for this purpose — Prevented by the Sirocco 
 wind — Confined to his bed — Is delirious — The doctors think 
 there is no danger — Sirocco continues — His forlorn condition — 
 Is bled — Continued delirium — A consultation of physicians — 
 Previous treatment of Lord Byron condemned — Bark adminis- 
 tered to him — Is sensible for the last time — Lies in a stupor for 
 twenty-four hours — His Death — Author's opinion as to the 
 causes of his Death — Lord Byron's prodigious disappointment — 
 
CONTENTS. XIX 
 
 Flattering manner in which he was invited to Greece — What 
 he expected to perform — Remarks on the physician's statements 
 —Other disasters in Greece — Its independence not promoted by 
 our interference. . . . . . . 101. 
 
 CHAPTER VI, 
 
 Occurrences after Lord Byron's Death. 
 
 I am taken ill — Go to Zante — Grief in Greece at Lord 
 Byron's Death — Great affliction at Missolonghi — Proclamation 
 of Prince Mavrocordato — Lord Byron's Papers — Arrival of the 
 Florida, and the Loan — Count Gamba's description of the Cere- 
 monies at Missolonghi — Arrival of Colonel Stanhope at Zante 
 — Lord Byron's Body conveyed to England — Its Arrival— 
 The Funeral — Anecdote of a Sailor — Time and place of In- 
 terment. . ...... 135. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Traits op Character in Lord Byron. 
 
 Lord Byron's partiality for practical jokes — Mode of curing 
 ill-timed gallantry— An artificial earthquake — His shooting 
 amusements— Greek scolds— His motley regiment — His de- 
 scription of it — Punishment of polygamy — Lord Byron's frank- 
 ness—Tells Prince Mavrocordato I had abused him— Ad- 
 venture with the Turkish women— Anecdote of a Greek peasant 
 woman. . • • • • w " 
 
XX CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Lord Byron's Opinions and Intentions with respect to 
 Greece. 
 
 His injunctions to speak the truth as to Greece — His anxiety 
 not to he instrumental in deluding the people of England — 
 Claims the cause of Greece has on our sympathy— Country and 
 people of Greece — Disadvantage of their character as insurgents 
 — No plan or system amongst them — What form of government 
 they should adopt — A federation of states — People give energy 
 to government — Presidents of the Greek government — Peasantry 
 — Poverty and intelligence of the Greeks — Greece might spread 
 a revolution to Hindostan — Character of the Greek chiefs- 
 Lord Byron's final intentions as to Greece — Purity of his 
 amhition. 167. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Lord Byron's Opinions. 
 
 Of the Greek Committee — Mr. Blaquiere — Honorary Secre- 
 tary Bovvring — Colonel Stanhope — Mr. Gordon — Subjects for 
 Don Juan — Opinion of Missolonghi — Sir Francis Burdett — 
 Patriotic Committees — Mr. Bentham's Cruise — Author's Intro- 
 duction to him — His breakfast and dinner hour — Source of amis- 
 take — Adventures with him — Byron a Carbonaro — A reverend 
 opponent of Lord Byron — His detestation of hypocrites — Fa- 
 vourable opinion of mechanics— Mode of welcoming him at 
 Anatolica — His opinions on religion — On forms of government 
 
CONTENTS. XXI 
 
 — The United States of America — Belief in ghosts and presen- 
 timents — Anecdote of the late Queen — His opinion of marriage 
 — Of Lady Byron — Mr. Southey — Sir Walter Scott — Mr. 
 Cooke, the actor 186. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Lord Byron, Colonel Stanhope, and Mr. Bentham. 
 
 Reasons for noticing Colonel Stanhope's attack on Lord 
 Byron — Nature of this attack — Probable reason why Lord 
 Byron's Friends have not defended him — Circumstances of the 
 case — Lord Byron's reasons for his conduct — His attacks on 
 Mr. Bentham — Their amount — Colonel Stanhope anxious to 
 obtain Mr. Bentham's favour — Source of the Greek Committee's 
 want of confidence in Lord Byron — Unjustifiable time of Colonel 
 Stanhope's attack — Criterion for deciding betwixt them — 
 Colonel Stanhope's expenses in Greece — To what purpose di- 
 rected—His unpleasant interference— Wants to rule in Greece 
 — What he effected — Comparison between the consequences of 
 his Departure and Lord Byron's Loss — Consistency of the two 
 Gentlemen — Lord Byron only zealous for the Welfare of 
 Greece— His faults traced to his birth and education — Apology 
 for some of his Errors. ..... 225. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Conduct op Colonel Stanhope and op the Greek Committee 
 to the Greeks. 
 
 Important consequences of Colonel Stanhope's proceedings — 
 
XXII CONTENTS. 
 
 His attacks on me — The Greek Committee invited to investigate 
 them — He engages in opposition to the Greek government — 
 Goes to Greece to regenerate it — His qualities for a legislator — 
 Greece to be regenerated on Mr. Bentham's principles, and by 
 force — Engages individuals to write against the British govern- 
 ment, and implicates the Committee and the Greeks in the same 
 hostility — Does what he can to involve them in disputes with 
 the Holy Alliance — His favourable opinion of Mavrocordato — 
 Attachment of the Greeks to the Prince — Change in Colonel 
 Stanhope's opinion — Source of the change — His abuse of the 
 prince — The prince opposes his whims — Former situation of 
 Odysseus — An object of suspicion to the Government — Is fa- 
 voured by Captain Trelawney and Colonel Stanhope — Sudden 
 change in the opinion of the latter — Odysseus natters Colonel 
 Stanhope — The Colonel wants to put power into his hands — 
 Intrigues to break up the brigade — Suspicions entertained of 
 Colonel Stanhope — Intercepted letter of Sophianopulo — Capt. 
 Trelawney's recommendation to break up the brigade — Colonel 
 Stanhope's order for this purpose — In what respect opposed to 
 the wishes of Lord Byron— Letter of Mavrocordato — Colonel 
 Stanhope sets up a new race of Pachas — Colonel Stanhope's 
 right to break up the brigade questioned — Formed by Lord 
 Byron, and placed by him and the Committee under Prince 
 Mavrocordato — My instructions on this head — Insulting lan- 
 guage of Colonel Stanhope — Source of our authority for being 
 in Greece — Conclusion that Colonel Stanhope had no right to 
 break up the brigade — His improper mode of transmitting 
 orders for this purpose — Cessation of my services under the 
 
CONTENTS. XXU1 
 
 Greek Committee — Charge against Colonel Stanhope of injur- 
 ing the Greek cause, and insulting the memory of Lord Byron 
 proved — His injudicious conduct as to the war — Anger of the 
 Greeks — His encouragement to adventurers — In what manner 
 the Committee are to hlame for approving Colonel Stanhope's 
 proceedings — Vote of approhation — Conclusion. . 266. 
 
 Appendix and Illustrative Letters . t . . . p. 419, 
 
DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER. 
 
 Portrait of Lord Byron — Frontispiece. 
 
 Lord Byron's House at Missolonghi — To face page 68. 
 
 Lord Byron attended by his Suliote Guards — To face page 7o. 
 
 Lord Byron on his death bed — To face page 127. 
 
UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE 
 
 LAST DAYS OF LORD BYRON, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 VOYAGE TO GREECE.— FIRST INTERVIEW WITH 
 LORD BYRON. 
 
 Public Meeting- in London in behalf of the Greeks — My services en- 
 gaged by Mr. Gordon — His g-enerous ofl'er — Unaccountable delay 
 of the Committee — Mr. Gordon retracts — Formation of a small Bri- 
 gade — Terms of my agreement — Sail from the River — Arrival at 
 Malta — Delay there, and at Corfu — Arrival at Drag-omestri — Send 
 the Stores to Missolonghi — Arrival there — Meeting- with Colonel 
 Stanhope — Take up my Quarters in Lord Byron's House — Intro- 
 duction to Lord Byron — His kind manner, and warm reception of 
 me — His appearance — Furniture of his room — Conversation. 
 
 lHE noble struggle of the Greeks to shake 
 off the yoke of their Mahomedan tyrants having 
 excited much interest in Great Britain, and pro- 
 duced a strong wish, among many enlightened 
 persons, to contribute to the success of so good a 
 cause, a Public Meeting was called at the Crown 
 and Anchor Tavern, London, on the 15th day of 
 May, in the year 1823. A subscription was en- 
 tered into at the meeting, and a committee ap- 
 pointed to carry the intentions of those who sub- 
 
 B 
 
MY SERVICES ENGAGED. 
 
 scribed their money into effect, by providing such 
 supplies as were most likely to be of effectual 
 service to the Greeks. Having been known to 
 several members of the committee, by my services 
 on another occasion, I was sent for by Mr. Hume, 
 to ascertain if I were willing to be again em- 
 ployed. I accordingly waited on this gentleman, 
 and met with him Mr. Blaquiere and Mr. Gordon. 
 Nothing particular passed, except that the latter 
 gentleman put several questions to me concern- 
 ing the formation of a brigade of artillery. I 
 gave him all the information in my power, at 
 the moment, as to the number of men, the quan- 
 tity of stores of different kinds, and the various 
 species of ammunition which would be required 
 to form a small brigade ; and I concluded by ten- 
 dering an offer of my services to prepare one, 
 under his auspices and direction. 
 
 Mr. Gordon being extremely anxious, and even 
 enthusiastic, to promote the cause of the Greeks, 
 readily accepted my offer, and engaged me im- 
 mediately. I accompanied him to Scotland, at 
 his request, and remained at Cairness, the 
 place of his residence in that country, until the 
 committee came to a determination as to the 
 course of proceedings they would adopt. At 
 length, it being ascertained that the subscriptions 
 would enable the committee to pay the expenses 
 incurred in England, and send some effectual 
 
mr. Gordon's plan. 3 
 
 assistance to the Greeks, Mr. Gordon ordered me 
 to make out an estimate of the expense of a 
 corps of artillery, consisting of mountain guns 
 and howitzers, with all the necessary ammunition 
 and stores. A small laboratory, foundry, and 
 establishment for making and repairing gun-car- 
 riages, were also to be added. According to his 
 directions, I immediately made out an estimate of 
 all these matters, on the most economical plan, and 
 the sum I concluded they would cost was 10,500/. 
 
 My employer approved of this statement, and, 
 with that devotion to the good cause of Greece 
 which has so long distinguished him, he imme- 
 diately made an offer to the committee to pay the 
 third of this expense from his private purse, if the 
 committee would pay the remainder. He also 
 offered to give up his own time, and proceed 
 immediately to Greece with this most needed 
 and necessary supply, could his wish for the for- 
 mation of a brigade of artillery be accomplished. 
 He thought no sacrifice, short of consistency and 
 honour, too great to promote the cause of the 
 Greeks. It was plain, in his opinion, that artil- 
 lery was the arm of war in which they were most 
 deficient, and which, if properly organized, 
 might render them the most beneficial services. 
 
 To further his views, he immediately sent me 
 to London to form a small brigade on his own 
 account, and to stimulate the committee to pro- 
 
 B 2 
 
4 UNACCOUNTABLE DELAY. 
 
 ceedas fast as possible. From some causes, which 
 I cannot explain, and which have never been ex- 
 plained, a delay of nearly four months took place. 
 Every day did I attend on the committee, to 
 give them every information in my power, and 
 receive their orders, and during all this time I 
 noticed little or no progress in the actual pre- 
 parations for assisting Greece. 
 
 Mr. Gordon can, most probably, explain this 
 matter far better than I can, and to him and the 
 committee I willingly leave it, remarking merely, 
 that the latter are responsible to the warm- 
 hearted people of our country who confided in 
 them, and to the great interests of humanity, 
 religion, and liberty, with which they were in- 
 trusted, for this injurious and fatal delay. The 
 first consequence of it was, that Mr. Gordon re- 
 tracted his offer, and notified his intention to 
 relinquish his excellent plan. At the same time, 
 he made a present to the committee, for the use 
 of the Greeks, of the small brigade I had formed, 
 together with all the carriages, limber and 
 forge carts, complete ; exclusive of contributing 
 a very handsome sum of money. 
 
 The same circumstance put me to much incon- 
 venience, and to a considerable expence. Under 
 the notion that Mr. Gordon's proposition would 
 be promptly acted on, I went among some of 
 my old acquaintance connected with the Artil- 
 
EXPENSE IT CAUSES. 5 
 
 Icry, and selected upwards of fifty veterans, 
 both artillery-men and artificers, all of excellent 
 character, who would readily have engaged 
 themselves in the service of Greece. Of course, 
 I had to enter into an engagement with them, 
 to make them promises, and point out to them 
 the advantages they would obtain. Some of 
 them not having a present means of subsistence 
 in London, I was obliged to provide them with 
 both food and lodging, and being also obliged 
 to give the men something to whom I had held 
 out hopes and made promises, I was put to an 
 expense altogether of upwards of thirty pounds, 
 not one farthing of which I was ever paid by the 
 Greek committee, or by any other persons. But 
 whatever I may have lost and suffered appears 
 to me as nothing, compared to what the cause of 
 Greece has lost and suffered by that sort of ma- 
 nagement which was so vexatious and injurious 
 to me. 
 
 When Mr. Gordon withdrew, my connexion 
 with him, in this official relation, of course, 
 ceased, and very sorry I was to lose the stimu- 
 lus of his advice and encouragement. I was, 
 however, too far embarked in the business, to 
 give it up, and the committee having engaged my 
 services, I continued in attendance on them till 
 the month of August. They then resolved to 
 send out an expedition, or a quantity of supplies 
 
6 SUPPLIES SENT OUT. 
 
 on a small scale. Taking wages, freight out, 
 and every other expense, it was to cost about 
 ,£4,500, and to consist of certain military stores, 
 and a certain number of artificers and mechanics. 
 I undertook to superintend the manufacture of the 
 various pieces of artillery ordered ; and to carry 
 the whole into execution. Contracts were accord- 
 ingly entered into with several tradesmen, to 
 supply the different species of stores ; the whole 
 to be completed in ten weeks. For my services 
 the Committee agreed to pay me four pounds 
 sterling per week. The reader will find in the 
 Appendix, A, a detailed account of the number of 
 men, and quantity of stores, sent out to Greece 
 under my orders. 
 
 These supplies were calculated to form a 
 mountain brigade of artillery, with the munitions 
 of war, materiel, tools, &c. necessary for a small 
 establishment. With this as a foundation, it 
 was calculated, should proper assistance be given 
 in Greece, that an arsenal might gradually be 
 formed, sufficient to manufacture all the minor im- 
 plements of war, and most of the ammunition and 
 stores which would be requisite for that country. 
 It was also supposed, that it would be of great 
 service to introduce among the Greeks some of 
 those mechanic arts connected with war, in 
 which they are most deficient. Sensible as I am 
 of the great utility of every species of practical 
 
DELAY IN THE PROCEEDINGS. / 
 
 mechanical skill, it did appear to me that this 
 plan, which originated with Mr. Gordon, was 
 one of the most effectual means which could be 
 devised for assisting Greece. 
 
 The Greek committee agreed to pay me for 
 my services, the sum of ,£400 for one year, from 
 the time of my departure, I being to find my own 
 passage back, after that period, if I thought proper 
 to return. For this sum, stipulating for custo- 
 mary and proper usage, according to my rank and 
 behaviour, I entered into a contract to perform 
 certain specific services. Not to interrupt my 
 narrative, I shall place this document also in the 
 Appendix ; and the reader will find it marked B. 
 
 When the stores were prepared, and the men 
 engaged, I represented to the committee the 
 many advantages which would accrue from for- 
 warding them by a fast-sailing vessel, having 
 nothing else on board, and to touch only at one 
 port for orders. My advice was not followed; 
 and both stores and men were shipped on board 
 a vessel, partly laden with government stores 
 to be delivered at Malta and Corfu, at both 
 which ports, of course, the vessel would have to 
 stop, and must necessarily be detained a consi- 
 derable time to unload. The utility of the advice 
 which I gave was made very evident to me when 
 we arrived at Greece, where there was, at that 
 time, a great want of stores and ammunition of 
 
8 PASSENGERS. — MALTA. 
 
 every description. There was a great scarcity of 
 powder ; and the success, if not the salvation, of 
 Greece depended on our speedy arrival. 
 
 The men and stores were all shipped on board 
 the brig " Ann," of 250 tons, Capt. Langridge, 
 and we sailed from Gravesend on November 10, 
 1823. We had a favourable voyage from London 
 to Malta, arriving there in thirty-seven days 
 (December 15), and six weeks is not considered 
 to be an unusual passage. Our vessel was, how- 
 ever, more crowded than was consistent with our 
 comfort. The cabin was calculated only to accom- 
 modate four persons; and there were nine cabin 
 passengers, besides nine persons in the steerage. 
 I had to provide for eighteen persons, exclusive 
 of two Greek servants, most of whom had not been 
 at sea before, and required much attention. They 
 consisted of three English adventurers, sent out 
 under the auspices of the Greek committee ; four 
 foreigners, among whom was Lieut. Sass ; two 
 respectable Greeks, six mechanics, a foreman and 
 clerk, with myself. My trouble and expense were 
 both greater than I had expected, the number of 
 persons stipulated for having been only fourteen, 
 and for this number only had provisions been 
 laid in. 
 
 At Malta we were detained no less than nine- 
 teen days. The cabin passengers went on shore, 
 and I made them an allowance for subsisting them- 
 
CORFU. APPREHENSIONS. 9 
 
 selves there. The steerage passengers, particu- 
 larly the mechanics, whose conduct had not been 
 very good, remained on board, and we were the 
 whole time under apprehensions on their ac- 
 count. We had brought them into the lion's 
 mouth ; and had an information been laid on oath 
 that English mechanics, hired for a foreign ser- 
 vice, were on board, both they and the stores 
 would have been detained. The carpenter of 
 the brig, an Irishman, having quarrelled with 
 some of my men, threatened, indeed, to inform 
 against them, and he was only prevented by his 
 ignorance of the mode of proceeding. Without a 
 formal information, the government would not 
 interfere ; and the friends of Greece at Malta 
 exerted themselves to prevent this being laid. 
 The alarm on this account was, however, very 
 great; and I was not easy till the Anne was 
 again at sea, and away from Valletta. My men 
 knew all these circumstances, and took advan- 
 tage of them. They asked for every thing in the 
 way of food and drink which could be procured, 
 and to content them, I was obliged to supply 
 them with whatever the market would afford. 
 
 We at length departed from Malta, on Janu- 
 ary 3, and, after a boisterous passage of six days, 
 we reached Corfu. Here we were again detain- 
 ed no less than ten days, and were subject to 
 the same sort of apprehension as at Malta ; but 
 
10 ITHACA. DRAGOMESTRI. 
 
 here, as there, though the authorities knew 
 what our vessel was laden with, they did not in- 
 terfere. They were satisfied in overlooking us, 
 as the Custom-House clearance at London exo- 
 nerated them from all responsibility on this 
 point. 
 
 From Corfu we proceeded to Ithaca, and were 
 nearly lost on the way, by the pilot running the 
 brig into a small cove in the island of Cepha- 
 lonia, not large enough for a vessel of her descrip- 
 tion. We remained at Ithaca seven days, wait- 
 ing for orders, and had to pay five pounds 
 five shillings a day demurrage. We then re- 
 ceived orders to proceed to Dragomestri, in 
 Western Greece, where we arrived on the same 
 day, January 29th. I had necessarily been very 
 impatient through the whole voyage, but more 
 particularly after reaching Malta, and seeing the 
 manner in which the vessel was detained ; and 
 I calculated, over and over again, the days and 
 weeks the committee had lost, by not following 
 my advice. At length, our voyage, for the con- 
 clusion of which I was so anxious, had been suc- 
 cessfully completed, but I found my labours and 
 anxiety were only beginning. 
 
 On January 31st, a messenger arrived from 
 Missolonghi, at Dragomestri, and delivered me 
 the following letter of instructions. 
 
COLONEL STANHOPE'S ORDERS. 1 1 
 
 Missolonghi, Jan. 30, 1S24. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 The Turkish fleet returned into the Gulf of 
 Lepanto yesterday morning; as they are slow in all their 
 movements, there is no chance of their putting to sea again 
 for many days. 
 
 Under these circumstances, Prince Mavrocordato, Lord 
 Byron, and myself, think it desirable, that you should dis- 
 charge your cargo at Scrofeo. Boats will be in readiness 
 there to receive the articles, and to bring them on direct to Mis- 
 solonghi. 
 
 It will, I fancy, be necessary for you to procure a pilot, 
 but Martin will be able to afford you every information on this 
 and other subjects. 
 
 Should you have already, on the receipt of this letter, com- 
 menced your disembarkation at Dragomestri, you had better 
 go on with that work ; but, in that case, you would do well to 
 load as many boats for this place as may be there procurable. 
 
 I beg of you, by the first occasion, to forward to Misso- 
 longhi all the lithographic presses, and articles connected 
 with the printing apparatus; also, one person that is ac- 
 quainted with the art of lithographic 'printing. 
 
 Be pleased, also, to forward my trunk, saddle, sword, let- 
 ters, &c. forthwith to Missolonghi. 
 
 The Artillery Corps, of which you are the Inspector, and 
 every thing, will be ready for you here on your arrival. I ex- 
 pect you here with the greatest impatience ; — your services 
 will be most important to the independence and liberties of 
 Greece. 
 
 Your's most truly, 
 
 Leicester Stanhope. 
 
12 THE ARSENAL. 
 
 We immediately began, and unloaded the ship 
 with all the haste in our power ; putting the 
 stores in small vessels, which had been hired to 
 convey them to Missolonghi. This cost us eight 
 days more. There was a great difficulty in pro- 
 curing small vessels ; but when all was ready, 
 we divided our men into two parties, to take 
 care of the stores, and then proceeded in these 
 boats to Missolonghi, where we arrived on Fe- 
 bruary 7th, with all our charge, in good order. 
 On my landing, I was met by Colonel Stanhope : 
 this gentleman introduced me to Prince Mavro- 
 cordato, and informed me that a place had been 
 procured for a laboratory or ordnance-establish- 
 ment, as conformable as possible to the memo- 
 randum he had received of me in England. 
 Great difficulty, he said, had been encountered 
 in getting this accommodation, as there was no 
 subordination among the Greeks ; and the sol- 
 diers had at first objected to quitting the bar- 
 racks. The place appropriated to us was called 
 the Seraglio, and being at some distance from 
 the water, we had a great deal of trouble in 
 getting the stores removed thither. We re- 
 ceived very little assistance ; there was no regu- 
 lar organization, and the people who helped us 
 one day rarely came a second. After much la- 
 bour and vexation, we did, however, succeed in 
 getting all the stores into a place of safety. 
 
NECESSARY BUILDINGS. 13 
 
 Having been consulted by Colonel Stanhope, 
 prior to his leaving England, as to the sort of 
 building we should require, I had given him the 
 following memorandum ; — I subjoin it here, that 
 the reader may see I asked for no palace, that I 
 was not fastidious as to architecture, and re- 
 quired only what was indispensable, either for 
 our labours, our safety, or the safety of the 
 stores. 
 
 MEMORANDUM. 
 
 The buildings, if possible, should be connected. One 
 should be a store-house for the different articles brought out from 
 England, and what might be supplied by the Greek Govern- 
 ment. The building to be appropriated as the magazine for 
 the gunpowder and other stores liable to explosion, is to be se- 
 parate from the other. Remark — This building must be clear 
 of the manufactory. 
 
 The number of men required for the guns and howitzers to 
 be instructed, should be ten men to a gun, giving a total of 
 one hundred and twenty men, exclusive of officers. These 
 men should be armed with a brace of pistols and a sabre, and 
 might be disciplined immediately on my arrival, as I could at- 
 tend to this part of the service at the same time the different 
 manufactures were in progress. 
 
 William Parry, 
 
 Fire-master. 
 G.C. 
 
 After seeing our men established in their new 
 quarters, I went to my own, which were under 
 the same roof with Lord Byron. Immediately 
 on reaching Missolonghi, I began to suffer from 
 
14 LORD BYRON'S KINDNESS TO THE MEN. 
 
 another effect of our protracted voyage. From 
 the long time our vessel remained at Malta and 
 Corfu, as well as from the expense I had been 
 at in procuring vessels to bring forward the stores, 
 my money began to grow short. I had expended 
 from my own funds, in supplying the artificers 
 and other passengers, and on the public service, 
 every farthing I could spare, and it was neces- 
 sary, for the sake of the men, as well as my own, 
 and even to enable me to get the stores conveyed 
 to a place of safety, that I should obtain an im- 
 mediate supply. I accordingly applied to Colo- 
 nel Stanhope for pecuniary assistance, but he 
 told me he had no means of supplying me, and no 
 public funds at his command. He added, Lord 
 Byron would probably supply me, he knew his 
 Lordship would at least be glad to see me, and 
 he would introduce me. 
 
 I was somewhat impatient to see Lord Byron, 
 and readily accepted this offer. Two of our men, 
 who had arrived in the first boat, had already 
 seen him, and had told me, with great warmth, 
 of his kind and condescending behaviour. He 
 had seemed, they said, overjoyed to see some 
 of his countrymen ; he told them he was glad 
 they had arrived in safety, and behaved to them 
 in the most hospitable and friendly manner. 
 This cheered my spirits, which were much de- 
 pressed by severe fatigue, and the information 
 
FIRST INTERVIEW WITH LORD BYRON. 15 
 
 I had received from Colonel Stanhope, that he 
 had no money at his command. Without this it 
 was impossible for me to carry on the service, 
 and I felt abashed and ashamed to come before 
 Lord Byron for the first time in the character of 
 a beggar. He was a nobleman, a stranger, and 
 a man of exalted genius. I had understood I 
 might be of service to him and to Greece, but, 
 on the contrary, I found myself immediately 
 obliged, that I might be enabled even to subsist 
 my men, to have recourse to him for pecuniary 
 aid. 
 
 It was under these mingled feelings of regret 
 and expectation, that 1 had my first interview 
 with Lord Byron. In five minutes after Colonel 
 Stanhope had introduced me, every disagreeable 
 thought had vanished ; so kind, so cheering, so 
 friendly was his Lordship's reception of me, that 
 I soon forgot every unpleasant feeling. He gave 
 me his hand, and cordially welcomed me to 
 Greece. " He would have been glad," he said, 
 " to have seen me before ; he had long expected 
 me, and now that I was come, with a valuable 
 class of men, and some useful stores, he had 
 hopes that something might be done." This was 
 highly flattering to me, and I soon felt a part of 
 that pleasure which beamed from his Lordship's 
 countenance. 
 
 On getting somewhat more at case, I had time 
 
16 FURNITURE OP HIS ROOM. 
 
 to look about me, and notice the room in which 
 I was. The walls were covered with the insignia 
 of Lord Byron's occupations. They were hung 
 round with weapons, like an armoury, and sup- 
 plied with books. Swords of various descriptions 
 and manufacture, rifle-guns and pistols, carbines 
 and daggers, were within reach on every side of 
 the room. His books were placed over them on 
 shelves, and were not quite so accessible. I 
 afterwards thought, when I came .to know more 
 of the man and the country, that this arrange- 
 ment was a type of his opinion concerning it. 
 He was not one of those who thought the Greeks 
 needed education before obtaining freedom : as 
 I can now interpret the language, there was legi- 
 bly written on the walls, — " Give Greece arms 
 and independence, and then learning ; I am here 
 to serve her, but I will serve her first with my 
 steel, and afterwards with my pen." 
 
 Lord Byron was sitting on a kind of mattress, 
 but elevated by a cushion that occupied only a 
 part of it, and made his seat higher than the 
 rest. He was dressed in a blue surtout coat and 
 loose trowsers, and wore a foraging-cap. He 
 was attended by an Italian servant, Tita, and a 
 young Greek of the name of Luca, of a most pre- 
 possessing appearance. Count Gamba, too, came 
 in and out of the room, and Fletcher, his servant, 
 was also occasionally in attendance. His Lordship 
 
FIRST INTERVIEW WITH LORD BYRON. 17 
 
 desired me to sit down beside him : his con- 
 versation very soon became animated, and then 
 his countenance appeared even more prepossess- 
 ing than at first. 
 
 He began to rally me on the length of my 
 voyage, and told me he had supposed I meant to 
 vie with my namesake, and that I was gone to 
 explore the South Pole instead of coming to 
 Greece. My arrival at length, he added, had 
 taken a load off his mind, and he would not com- 
 plain, if he at last saw Greece flourishing and 
 successful. " Why," he asked, observing that I 
 did not share his satisfaction, " was I not as well 
 pleased as he was ?" Then, with a hint at my 
 sailor habits, he said he knew I wanted refresh- 
 ment, and sent Tita to bring me some brandy 
 and water. This, however, had not all the 
 effect his Lordship wished, and he still rallied 
 me on my dissatisfied appearance, bade me be at 
 home, and explain to him why I was not con- 
 tented. 
 
 I told his Lordship, that I felt my situation 
 very irksome ; that I had come to render assist- 
 ance to the Greeks, and found myself, on the 
 instant of my arrival, obliged to ask him for as- 
 sistance; that his Lordship's kindness, and what 
 he had said to me, had heightened my regret, 
 and that if he had received me haughtily and 
 proudly, I should have had less objection to 
 
 c: 
 
18 FIRST INTERVIEW WITH LORD BYRON. 
 
 trouble him ; " for," I added, " Colonel Stanhope 
 informs me that he has no funds to assist me, 
 and has recommended me to ask your Lord- 
 ship for money," On hearing this, he rose, 
 twirled himself round on his heel, (which I after- 
 wards found was a common, though not a grace- 
 ful practice of his,) and said, "Is that all? — 
 I was afraid it was something else. Do not let 
 that give you any uneasiness ; you have only to 
 tell me all your wants, for I like candour, and, 
 as far as I can, I will assist you." When his 
 Lordship rose, I observed that he was somewhat 
 lame, but his bust appeared perfectly and beau- 
 tifully formed. After a few moments' reflection, 
 he again took his seat, and said, he would take 
 some brandy and water with me, on condition 
 that I should tell him all the news in England, 
 and give him all the information in my power. 
 
 I accordingly endeavoured to recollect all the 
 events of any importance which had occurred, 
 or of which I had heard before leaving England; 
 I told him of the proceedings of the committee, 
 and of every thing which I thought would be 
 interesting. In return, his Lordship said I had 
 come to a place where I should encounter many 
 difficulties, and if I were the man I had been 
 represented to him, I should be exposed to some 
 dangers. Mr. Bo wring, he said, had inform- 
 ed him, that I was a person of violent passions ; 
 
FIRST INTERVIEW WITH LORD BYRON. 19 
 
 he did not, for his own part, exactly dislike those 
 who were quick to feel and prompt to act ; though 
 such menmight easily get into embarrassments 
 in a country like Greece. Perhaps, indeed, he 
 added, he felt a greater interest in me on this 
 account, than he otherwise should ; and, if he 
 found me worthy of his confidence, he would do 
 what lay in his power to make me acquainted 
 both with men and things in Greece, so that I 
 might know how to steer clear of the dangers 
 which threatened me. 
 
 I was much surprised that any person, parti- 
 cularly Mr. Bowring, should have given himself 
 the trouble to prejudice Lord Byron against me; 
 and to satisfy his Lordship, I handed over to him 
 the following letter from Mr. Gordon. I shall in- 
 sert it here, — apologizing at the same time, for 
 speaking to the reader of myself, when Lord 
 Byron is a much more interesting topic,— because 
 I have that to say, in describing my intercourse 
 with him, which will impeach, at least, the pru- 
 dence and discretion of some highly respectable 
 persons ; and therefore I wish to shew, that 
 Lord Byron did not place the confidence with 
 which he immediately honoured me in one 
 wholly untried and unrecommended. I also wish 
 to inspire the reader with that reliance on all my 
 subsequent statements, which will arise from a 
 conviction, that those who have known me have 
 
 C 2 
 
20 FIRST INTERVIEW WITH LORD BYRON. 
 
 relied on my integrity. From the moment Lord 
 Byron read this letter, he was satisfied that the 
 delay of which he complained had not originated 
 with me ; and daring the short remainder of his 
 valuable life, he had me always about him, and 
 placed almost every thing he possessed in Greece 
 under my control. Mr. Gordon wrote to me as 
 follows : — 
 
 Cairness, October 2Sth, 1S23. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I had the pleasure of receiving both your letters ; — 
 that of Mr. Robertson was intended as an answer to the first. 
 I am much obliged to you for all the trouble you have taken, and 
 am happy to hear that my train of artillery is soon to arrive. 
 I should already have sent you the letters, were it not that all 
 the friends to whom I would have recommended you in Greece 
 have quitted that country. 
 
 Nothing could give me more concern or surprise, than the 
 intelligence you conveyed to me in your last ; viz., that the 
 committee had resolved to send out the expedition in a vessel 
 carrying government stores, to touch at Malta and the Ionian 
 Islands. Had it been their intention to defeat the object of 
 the subscription by one masterly stroke, no better plan could 
 have been devised. From the known character of the Powers 
 that be in these Islands, there is nothing to be expected but 
 fine or imprisonment ior the individuals composing the expedi- 
 tion, and seizure of the stores belonging to it. And should 
 the committee persist in this plan of despatching you, I would 
 advise you to give them a direct refusal to be accessory to a 
 proceeding which would entail ruin on yourself, and cause 
 disappointment to the friends of the Greeks. 
 
 I have been more particular in mentioning this, from your 
 
FIRST INTERVIEW WITH LORD BYRON. 21 
 
 conduct having always met with my approbation, and from the 
 interest I shall always take in your welfare. 
 I shall be happy to hear from you again, 
 And I remain, 
 
 Dear Sir, 3'ours truly, 
 
 Thomas Gordon. 
 
 My first interview with Lord Byron lasted 
 nearly three hours, and his Lordship repaid my 
 candour, and the information I had given him, by 
 explaining to me how much he had been har- 
 rassed and disappointed since his arrival in 
 Greece. Of these subjects, I shall hereafter 
 have more to say, and shall enter more into 
 details ; I shall therefore now only observe, 
 that his Lordship, when speaking on these topics, 
 displayed a great degree of sensibility, not to 
 say irritation, — that his countenance changed 
 rapidly, and expressed great anxiety. He seemed 
 almost to despair of success, but said he would 
 see the contest out. There was then a pallid- 
 ness in his face, and knitting of his brows, 
 that indicated both weakness and vexation. I 
 have since thought, that his fate was sealed 
 before my arrival in Greece ; and that even then 
 he was, so to speak, on his death-bed. 
 
22 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 LORD BYRON'S SITUATION IN GREECE.— HIS FIRST 
 ILLNESS. 
 
 First labours in Greece — Lord Byron wholly occupied with the affairs 
 of that country — Is surrounded with difficulties — His complaints of 
 delay and disappointment — Offended with Mr. Blaquiere's treat- 
 ment — Has no friends in Greece — Supplies money for the Brigade 
 — The arsenal is paved — Prince Mavrocordato asks money of Lord 
 Byron — The Prince's treatment of me — Conduct of the foreign 
 officers — Are a great burthen to Lord Byron — One of them resigns 
 his commission — Lord Byron does not agree with Colonel Stan- 
 hope — His objections to establishing a newspaper — Complete the 
 removal of the Stores — Immoderate expectations of the Greeks — 
 Death of Sir Thomas Maitland — Opinions as to his government — 
 Find some of the stores damaged — Alterations necessary in the 
 guns — Applications to Lord Byron for pecuniary assistance — His 
 opinion of Mavrocordato — His Lordship's confidence in me in- 
 creases — He becomes my pupil — Gives me the control over his ex- 
 penditure — Weekly expense — Difficulty in obtaining money — Lord 
 Byron's first illness — Treatment by the doctors. 
 
 On February 8th, we were actively employed 
 through the whole day in landing the stores, and 
 making arrangements for our future operations. 
 A drag-cart was constructed out of two Turkish 
 lumber-carriages, but we were obliged to use 
 the drag-ropes of the three pounders, brought 
 out from England, as we could not find an inch 
 of rope for this purpose ; nor could carts, or any 
 
OUR FIRST LABOURS IN GREECE. 23 
 
 other instrument or material we required, be pro- 
 cured in the town. Colonel Stanhope and 
 others held a meeting, and took an account of 
 the stores I had brought out. Some discussion 
 also took place, as to the manner of appropriat- 
 ing them for the expedition which was then 
 preparing against Lepanto. To this, of course, 
 I was not a party, being, both by my situation 
 and recent arrival, scarcely qualified to give an 
 opinion. After the labours of the day were 
 over, on retiring to my quarters for the night, 
 I had again the honour of seeing Lord Byron, 
 and of having a long conversation with him. 
 His Lordship's thoughts seemed exclusively 
 occupied with his own situation, and with 
 Greece ; and I thought he appeared far from 
 satisfied with the former, and almost to despair of 
 the latter. 
 
 I must here observe, that I make no preten- 
 sions to report his Lordship's exact words ; they 
 were so well put together, that it would be im- 
 possible for me to imitate them ; but his senti- 
 ments I cannot forget, for they made on me a 
 deep and lasting impression. I felt, from the mo- 
 ment I first saw him, a very great respect for him, 
 mingled with something like pity. There was a 
 restlessness about him which I could not com- 
 prehend, and he seemed, at times, weary both of 
 himself and others. It was plain, that his wishe 
 
24 LORD BYRON COMPLAINS OF DELAY. 
 
 for the welfare of Greece went beyond his means 
 of serving her ; and he appeared surrounded with 
 difficulties, without a steady friend near him ca- 
 pable of giving him a judicious opinion. On no 
 other principle could I account for the confidence 
 he immediately placed in me. I knew he was a 
 man of commanding talents, and I saw him obliged 
 to confide in a stranger, who had no claim what- 
 ever to such an honour, but his years, and zeal 
 in that cause in which Lord Byron's whole soul 
 was engaged. The respect I had for him, with 
 his condescension and kindness to me, gave him 
 immediately something of that power over my 
 mind which the late emperor Napoleon is said to 
 have had over his soldiers. I listened attentively 
 to every thing he said, and though I have not 
 recorded his words, his sentiments will long be 
 fresh in my recollection. 
 
 Almost the first thing his Lordship said to me 
 this day was, that he was very much surprised 
 at the delay which had occurred in sending out 
 the supplies. Mr. Blaquiere had informed him, 
 when in Italy, that all these things would be 
 forwarded with the utmost despatch ; he had 
 relied on this information, and been induced by 
 it to leave that country before all his prepara- 
 tions were completed, and sooner than he other- 
 wise would. He had waited a considerable 
 time at Cephalonia, with anxious expectation ; 
 
HIS DISAPPOINTMENTS. 25 
 
 he had been there disappointed, and even 
 more disappointed since his arrival in Greece. 
 He had, on one occasion, hired a boat, and des- 
 patched her to Zante and Cephalonia, in search 
 of me and the stores ; or to get information con- 
 cerning us. How had it happened, he inquired 
 emphatically, that so much time had been lost ? 
 " And now," he continued, " when you are arriv- 
 ed, you have not brought with you all the things 
 which were promised us. Where are the Con- 
 greve rockets, of which the Greeks, who delight 
 in that sort of weapon, have been told so much, 
 and have formed such high expectations? Why 
 are their hopes, and the promises of the English 
 nation, to be both falsified? He had expected, 
 also," he said, " to have found more supplies at 
 Missolonghi, and persons in whom he could con- 
 fide. Printing-presses and lithographic presses 
 were now come ; adventurers and horns he had 
 before found ; but could the Turks be conquered 
 by such weapons? He felt much relieved by at 
 last finding a practical man near him, in whom 
 he could confide." Of course, I assured his Lord- 
 ship his confidence in me should not be mis- 
 placed, and that he might rely on my doing 
 zealously and cheerfully whatever lay in my 
 power, that could promote the cause of the 
 Greeks. His Lordship then insisted that I should 
 explain to him, at least, the cause of the delay. 
 
26 LORD byron's enthusiasm. 
 
 H The committee had sent me there," he said, 
 " to be under his command, and I must tell him 
 why I was so many months later than he had 
 expected me." 
 
 I accordingly told his Lordship what I have 
 already stated to the reader, as to the delay in 
 London, and the refusal of the committee to 
 follow my advice, by which a month might have 
 been saved. I told him, too, of the noble offer 
 made by Mr. Gordon ; but I could not explain 
 to him why that offer had no other consequences 
 than those I have already mentioned. His coun- 
 tenance changed very much at hearing this ; he 
 seemed both animated aud angry, and poured 
 out a tide of praise on Mr. Gordon, mingled with 
 some reproaches and sarcasms on other persons. 
 " Would,'' he said, " that he had known of that 
 offer ! The gentleman should at least have found 
 one person as ardent as himself in the cause of 
 Greece ; he would have met his views, and would 
 gladly have joined him in completing that corps 
 of artillery which was so much wanted. He was 
 afraid," he added, " that some selfish interests 
 stood in the way, or that gentleman's liberal 
 offer would have been joyfully accepted." His 
 Lordship then mentioned, that Mr. Blaquiere had 
 quitted Missolonghi without waiting to see him, 
 and had only left a note for him, which he seem- 
 ed to regard as a great slight, and at which he 
 
THE DIFFICULTIES OF HIS SITUATION. 27 
 
 expressed himself much hurt. It was like other 
 parts, he said, of the conduct of those who had 
 obtruded themselves into the office of managers 
 for both the Greek and the English nations. ' 
 
 I soon perceived, not only that Lord Byron 
 had no friend in Greece, but that he was sur- 
 rounded by persons whom he neither loved nor 
 trusted. Beyond the walls of his own apart- 
 ment, where he seemed to derive amusement 
 from his books, and from his dog, Lion ; and 
 pleasure from the attachment of his servants, 
 particularly from the attentions of Tita, he had 
 neither security nor repose. He had the un- 
 governable Suliotes both to appease and control. 
 Against the intrigues of the very persons he 
 came to help and benefit he was obliged to 
 be constantly on his guard ; and while he ne- 
 cessarily opened his purse for their service, he 
 was exposed to be made their prey. His confi- 
 dence even in Prince Mavrocordato was not al- 
 ways unshaken. His youthful friend Count Gamba 
 was destitute of experience, and was rather an 
 additional burthen on him, than a means of light- 
 ening his load. The foreign officers, and English 
 adventurers, were all dissatisfied, and either ap- 
 pealed to him to improve their condition, or 
 wearied him with their complaints. Whether 
 he had actually received promises of greater 
 succour from England than had ever been sent, 
 
28 FINDS HIMSELF DECEIVED. 
 
 or whether he had only formed an idea that 
 supplies would be transmitted abundantly, I 
 know not ; but it was evident to me, from the 
 very commencement of our acquaintance, that 
 he felt himself deceived and abandoned, I had 
 almost said betrayed. He might put a good face 
 on the matter to others, because he would not be 
 thought Quixotic or enthusiastic ; he might even 
 be, as in fact he sometimes was, the first to 
 laugh at his own difficulties, to prevent others 
 laughing at his folly ; but in his heart, he felt 
 that he was forlorn and forsaken. His conversa- 
 tion with me was generally serious, and when it 
 related to Greece, almost despairing. The reader 
 will find the Lord Byron whom I knew, a very 
 different man from the Lord Byron of Captain 
 Med win ; of the writer who signs himself N. R. 
 in the London Magazine for October ; or of those 
 gay associates of his, who have reported his con- 
 versations in the hours of festivity, or of unre- 
 flecting mirth. I speak of him as I found him, 
 not as he has been represented ; but the manly 
 reality will not, Ithink, turn out to his Lordship's 
 disadvantage. 
 
 F&bruary 9th, I was employed, as the day 
 before, in getting the stores all carried up to 
 the arsenal. I had some difficulty in obtaining 
 food for the men ; but by contributing something 
 from my own stock, I enabled them to get sup- 
 
LABOURS IN THE ARSENAL. 29 
 
 plies. Afterwards, however, Lord Byron gave 
 me fifty dollars; and having- met with a Greek 
 who had served in the British navy, and 
 spoke both our language and his own, I was in 
 a better condition to carry forward our ope- 
 rations. Some persons were set to work to 
 pave the arsenal-yard, which was a complete 
 puddle. Some rooms were arranged for store- 
 houses, others were appropriated for a labora- 
 tory and workshops, and others again were made 
 somewhat more suitable for habitations. 
 
 Already the mechanics we had brought out from 
 England began to grumble at their situation ; it 
 was not what they expected it would be, and that 
 was sufficient to make them discontented. Know- 
 ing, however, even from the short experience I 
 had already had at Missolonghi, how useful they 
 were, in comparison with any other class of 
 persons I had seen there, I encouraged them 
 all in my power to persevere, by promises and 
 hope. 
 
 Prince Mavrocordato visited his Lordship this 
 day, and they had a long conversation in my 
 presence, relative, as I was informed by his 
 Lordship, to Greece. The principal object of the 
 Prince's visit was to get more pecuniary assist- 
 ance, but Lord Byron saw it was impossible for 
 him to supply every want. " He had come to assist 
 the Greeks," he said, " and he would do that, 
 
30 WANTS OF THE GREEK GOVERNMENT. 
 
 as far as his means went; but to render his 
 efforts of any value, it was necessary that the 
 different authorities in Greece should bury their 
 mutual dislikes and animosities ; until that took 
 place, there could be no national union, and 
 success was impossible." The Prince said, 
 " that all his endeavours had been directed 
 to promote so desirable an object ; but he 
 was much afraid that considerable time would 
 elapse before it could be accomplished." To me, 
 the Prince behaved very condescendingly, and 
 lamented the inability of the Greek government 
 to give me any assistance, either in money or 
 materials. I had previously understood from 
 Lord Byron, that I must not hope for either of 
 these from the government, for it was in want of 
 both. Promises, he said, I might expect, in 
 abundance, but when the time for performance 
 came, some excuse would be found, and nothing 
 would be done. 
 
 February 10th. Our occupations were the same 
 this day as the day before ; but I remarked, that 
 the German officers who had been sent out from 
 England to assist, did nothing but quarrel about 
 their rank. They were without money, or the 
 means of subsistence, and had nothing but 
 what they received from the generosity of Lord 
 Byron. They added to the heap of troubles 
 which already overwhelmed him. He felt angry, 
 
FOREIGN OFFICERS IN GREECE. 31 
 
 also, at the fatuity of those who had sent 
 persons to Greece, who expected to be provided 
 for as in a regular army, and seemed to know no- 
 thing but etiquette. They were stickling for the 
 ceremonies and regulations observed among the 
 troops of their own despotic sovereigns, — as if a 
 code adapted only to repress individual ambi- 
 tion, to keep down talent, and check emulous 
 enterprise, that all ranks and classes maybe more 
 securely kept in obedience, was proper for Greece. 
 As far as the little which these officers did allowed 
 me to judge, I should say, also, they were igno- 
 rant, as well as proud. At least, they knew 
 nothing of the practical arts which were required 
 in Greece ; and Lord Byron, as well as every 
 other man of sane judgment, might well condemn, 
 as most unwise, sending such persons to such a 
 country. It might be a suitable means of pro- 
 viding for the discomfited partizans of revolution 
 who had emigrated from their own country ; 
 but they were an incumbrance, not a help to 
 Greece. To Lord Byron they were a double an- 
 noyance, as he might have obtained the services 
 of four useful Suliotes for the sum each of these 
 officers cost him, to provide for his subsistence. 
 Lord Byron, feeling already disposed to place 
 great confidence in me, proposed to appoint me 
 commander of his artillery brigade ; and I am 
 quite sure, though I say it, that there was no- 
 
32 DISSENSIONS AMONG THE FOREIGNERS. 
 
 body else on the spot so well acquainted 
 with this branch of the service as I was, or 
 who more deserved the appointment. But I 
 had only held the rank of fire -master in the 
 regular army, and, therefore, some of the Ger- 
 man officers thought it beneath their dignity to 
 serve under me .Mr. Kinderman, a Prussian offi- 
 cer, who had, probably, shared both in the strict 
 discipline and the defeats of the Prussian armies, 
 accordingly gave up his commission. While such 
 persons swagger and command, and find others to 
 execute, they are very great men, but once ask 
 them to be really useful, to put their hand to the 
 labouring oar, and their want of skill, and de- 
 fective education, become immediately apparent. 
 Then their wounded vanity seeks an excuse in 
 some antiquated regulations, and they say " their 
 dignity won't allow them to be useful." 
 
 In the course of the day, I also observed, 
 that Lord Byron, in addition to his other difficul- 
 ties, did not agree very cordially with Colonel 
 Stanhope. The Colonel was anxious to esta- 
 blish schools, erect printing-presses, and secure 
 liberty, by promulgating theories concerning it. 
 Lord Byron seemed willing to leave the form of 
 the government to be settled by circumstances 
 hereafter. He wanted the Greeks first to con- 
 quer their national independence, and then 
 enter into a compact for the security of individual 
 
NEWSPAPERS IN GREECE. 33 
 
 rights. Colonel Stanhope, I understood, had 
 been very active in establishing a newspaper at 
 Missolonghi, and Lord Byron said, had his will 
 been uncontrolled, it should not have been done. 
 He would have had no objection, if the Greeks 
 themselves had chosen to do it ; but he thought 
 foreigners who came to serve Greece, should not 
 begin by promoting discussion that must lead to 
 discord. "The press, in Greece," he said, "must be 
 in the hands of foreign visionaries and enthusiasts. 
 Practical men had other occupations ; and it was 
 therefore placing the power of working mischief 
 in the hands of adventurers. Prince Mavrocordato 
 wished to establish one at the seat of govern- 
 ment, where it would have been more under con- 
 trol, and could have been made instrumental in 
 promoting unity of views, and in contributing to 
 general concord. Now it was a power different 
 from that of the government, and would thwart 
 its views whenever they were opposed to its own 
 ambition. It was not like the free press of Great 
 Britain, where one journal was a check on ano- 
 ther ; it was a single journal, established by 
 foreign assistance, and destined only to promote 
 the views of the theorists who established it. 
 The conduct of Stanhope resembled the conduct of 
 the King of France, who was said to expend large 
 sums of money in bribing some English journals, 
 which were, consequently, the agents of his 
 
 D 
 
34) UNFOUNDED EXPECTATIONS OF THE GREEKS. 
 
 policy. If the Greeks wished to have newspapers 
 they would establish them ; now, they would be 
 looked on as the work of foreigners, and intended 
 to promote their views. They must be a means 
 of sowing jealousy and mistrust. They might 
 attack private individuals, and might give um- 
 brage to foreign powers. There was no practice 
 to regulate the mode of conducting them, and 
 laws could not be immediately formed to check all 
 their excesses. He who was attacked, and could 
 not wield the pen, would reply with his sword, 
 and bloodshed and anarchy would be the conse- 
 quence of discussing theories of government 
 before independence was obtained. There were 
 a great number of factious designing men in 
 Greece ; and in the present state of the country, 
 a press set up by foreign assistance was only 
 likely to afford them a means of disturbing public 
 tranquillity." 
 
 On February Wth, we were employed as on the 
 two former days, and completed the removal 
 of the stores to the arsenal. I again met his 
 Lordship in the evening, when he urged me to 
 make use of every means in my power to promote 
 the service. I had by this time formed a more 
 correct notion of what Lord Byron and the 
 Greeks had expected from the expedition; and 
 I pointed out the impossibility of realizing, with 
 our present resources, or with any we were likely 
 
OF Tl 
 
 VERSITY 
 
 OF 
 
 s^L'Fl 
 DEATH OF SIR THOMAS MAITLAND. 35 
 
 to obtain, the hopes and expectations of the 
 Greeks. Circular letters had been sent by 
 Colonel Stanhope, the produce, probably, of 
 the lithographic press, that occupied so many 
 of his thoughts, which had led the Greeks to 
 believe, now the expedition was arrived, that 
 every want would be supplied. I pointed out to 
 Lord Byron the very unpleasant situation this 
 placed me in, for it was thought I had the means 
 of supply in my own power, and would not allow 
 them to be used. But his Lordship, with his 
 usual kindness, told me not to mind this ; the 
 truth would speedily be known, and if I only 
 evinced the same determination hereafter, as I 
 had done since my arrival in Greece, he would 
 stand by me, both with his person and his 
 purse. 
 
 We heard, this day, of the death of Sir Thomas 
 Maitland ; and the news certainly caused consi- 
 derable satisfaction among the Greeks, and 
 among some of the English. He was generally 
 looked on by them, as the great enemy of their 
 cause ; but the manner in which our vessel was 
 allowed to remain unmolested at Malta and 
 Corfu did not seem a proof of this. I know that 
 his government has been very much censured in 
 England, and far be it from me to approve of the 
 arbitrary or despotic measures of any man ; but 
 those who know any thing of the people he had 
 
 D 2 
 
36 FIND THE STORES DAMAGED. 
 
 to deal with, will find, in their character, an excuse 
 for his conduct. I believe, in general, his govern- 
 ment was well calculated for his subjects. 
 
 February 12th. We were employed in unpack- 
 ing the stores. The strapped and case-shot were 
 in a bad condition, from having been so fre- 
 quently moved on the voyage, which was another 
 consequence of the injudicious mode adopted to 
 send out the stores. It was necessary that this 
 damage should be repaired as speedily as pos- 
 sible ; and, it being also found that some altera- 
 tion was required in the appendages to the guns, 
 to adapt them to the country, all the mechanics 
 were immediately set to work, to complete these 
 jobs. Two forge-carts were fitted up in the 
 arsenal-yard, until the work-shops were ready: 
 a number of labourers, masons, and sailors, all 
 of them, however, very rude workmen, were 
 hired to assist. Charcoal was procured from the 
 country, for the smith's and tinman's work, and 
 every thing was driven forward with as much ex- 
 pedition as possible. 
 
 The people of England, who have been 
 amused by the records of some trifling peculiari- 
 ties of Lord Byron, little know to what priva- 
 tions and sacrifices he submitted, to promote the 
 cause of the Greeks. He cheered us on in all 
 these operations ; and what is more, he advanced 
 all the money necessary for us to execute 
 
BYRON'S OPINION OF MAVROCORDATO. 37 
 
 them. He was anxious to attack Lepanto, and 
 while he was urging forward this measure, we 
 need not wonder that he complained of the 
 other drains which were constantly diminishing 
 his financial resources. His Lordship told me 
 to-day, that the applications for money were 
 numerous beyond conception, and he had been 
 so harrassed by different persons, that he should 
 be obliged, if this continued, to refuse any one an 
 interview who came on this business. 
 
 I took an opportunity, in the evening, of 
 asking Lord Byron what he thought of Prince 
 Mavrocordato. He replied, he considered him 
 an honest man, and a man of talent. He had 
 shewn his devotion to his country's service, by 
 expending his private property in its cause, and 
 was, probably, the most capable and trust-worthy 
 of all the Greek chieftains. His Lordship said 
 he agreed with him, that Missolonghi and its 
 dependencies were of the greatest importance to 
 Greece ; and, as long as the Prince acted as he 
 had done, he would give him all the support in 
 his power. His Lordship seemed, at the same 
 time, to suppose, that a little more energy and 
 industry in the Prince, with a disposition *to 
 make fewer promises, would tend much to his 
 advantage. 
 
 February \Sth. We were actively employed all 
 this day, as yesterday, refitting our shot, and 
 
38 LORD BYRON MY PUPIL. 
 
 altering our guns. Having two stop-watches in my 
 possession, the property of the Greek committee, 
 I requested Lord Byron to receive them into his 
 charge, to which he kindly consented ; and at the 
 same time proffered his readiness to do every 
 thing I could point out for the good of the service. 
 I was glad to observe, that his Lordship's 
 confidence in me continued progressively to 
 increase. He had found out that I was well 
 versed in all the mechanical arts connected 
 with war, and he asked me to give him some 
 instruction in them. Fortunately, I had one 
 or two mathematical books with me, and a va- 
 riety of useful tables, relative to the formation 
 and equipment of an army, particularly of artil- 
 lery ; and having replied to his Lordship, that I 
 should be very willing to give him every informa- 
 tion in my power, he immediately became my 
 pupil. He told me he had lately turned his 
 attention to every thing connected with military 
 service, both by sea and land, and as I, notwith- 
 standing the employments I had taken up at a 
 subsequent period, had been brought up a ship- 
 wright, I was able to give his Lordship a good deal 
 of mechanical and practical information ; — in fact, 
 I became of great use to him. I contributed, more 
 than any other person about him, to promote the 
 single object he had at heart, the success of the 
 Greeks; and on this account he bore with my 
 
UNFOUNDED ASPERSIONS OF MR. BOWRING. 39 
 
 peculiarities. He had none of that fastidious 
 delicacy, which makes some great men regard 
 with dread the energies necessary to their own 
 success. The passions of which Mr. Bowring 
 had written and spoken, carried him on to his 
 object ; and, like his own Corsair, 
 
 " He loved that roughness for the speed it gave.*" 
 
 On February \Uh, I received an additional and 
 important proof of his Lordship's confidence in 
 
 * The accusations of Lord Byron's pretended friends, and 
 my enemies, fortunately destroy each other. Mr. Bowring, 
 who is, I am told, an occasional writer in the London Maga- 
 zine, warns Lord Byron, in his letter to him, to beware of me, 
 because " I am a man of uncontrollable passions ;" and the 
 writer of a sketch of Lord Byron's life, in that same Maga- 
 zine for last October, who signs N. R., and one of whose 
 objects is to white-wash the Greek committee, as he finds a 
 justification, even, for that committee sending out bugle horns 
 and trumpets to the Greeks, as weapons of war, says " I obtain- 
 ed power over Lord Byron by dint of being his butt." That a 
 man of fierce and fiery passions, Lord Byron's senior by 
 twenty years, should have been a butt to him, is so palpable 
 a contradiction, that it needs only to be mentioned, to refute 
 one or the other of these assertions ; and will, perhaps, shew 
 that both are merely the dictates of the imagination of these 
 poetical writers, if indeed they are not both one and the same 
 person. The manner in which I was a butt to Lord Byron 
 will be seen in the subsequent pages. In fact, his Lordship 
 was tired with the frivolity and unmeaningness of pretended 
 wits, and would-be distinguished men, and Mas glad to meet 
 with a plain practical man. 
 
-10 BYRON'S EXPENSES. — GREECE. 
 
 me. He could not himself look minutely after 
 the accounts of the money lie meant to apply to 
 the service of the Greeks, nor even dispose of 
 it in the most advantageous manner ; he there- 
 fore requested me to take the charge, and direct 
 the disposal, of all the money he intended for 
 this purpose. I foresaw that this would be a 
 tiresome and invidious occupation ; but I con- 
 sented, on condition that his Lordship should 
 inspect the accounts daily, it being quite impos- 
 sible for me, with my other occupations, to 
 answer for their correctness, or be able to ex- 
 plain apparent discrepancies, if the books were 
 to be only balanced and audited at distant 
 periods. His Lordship agreed to my proposal, and 
 appointed the hour, between eleven and twelve 
 every day for this purpose. He also commanded 
 me to attend him every evening in his own 
 room, between seven and ten o'clock, to con- 
 sult and arrange for the work of the following 
 day. Thus was I established in a situation 
 that gave me an opportunity of knowing Lord 
 Byron's intentions, plans, and thoughts, as well, 
 or better, than any person then in Greece. 
 
 At this time, the expenses of Lord Byron in 
 the cause of the Greeks, did not amount to less 
 than two thousand dollars per week, in rations 
 alone. At the same time, there was a great 
 difficulty in obtaining money. Bills could not 
 
MUTINY AMONG THE SULIOTES. 41 
 
 be cashed on any terms, and it had cost Lord 
 Byron nearly one thousand dollars to procure 
 money from the Ionian Islands. 
 
 February \5th. There was a sort of mutiny among 
 the Suliotes ; at least they grumbled very much 
 that their arrears were not paid up. The inhabit- 
 ants of the town were afraid of being plundered, 
 and great confusion ensued. I knew nothing of 
 their language, and could not interfere, but 
 several negotiations took place between them 
 and Lord Byron, and it was at length agreed, 
 that six hundred of them should be taken into 
 his Lordship's pay, and act under his immediate 
 orders. This matter caused very great vexa- 
 tion to Lord Byron ; it fretted and teased him, 
 and, added to the other sources of vexation 
 already mentioned, seemed absolutely to worry 
 him. He was accustomed, also, to take a great 
 deal of hard exercise on horseback, and his 
 irritability was at this time much increased by 
 wanting this exercise. For several days, he 
 had been prevented from going abroad by 
 heavy rains ; and he complained in the course 
 of the day, more than usual, of his increasing 
 vexations. 
 
 His Lordship's quarters were on the second 
 floor of the house ; and Colonel Stanhope lived 
 on the first floor. In the evening, about eight 
 o'clock, he came down stairs into the Colonel's 
 
42 SUDDEN ILLNESS OF LORD BYRON. 
 
 room, where I was. He seated himself on a 
 cane settee, and began talking with me on 
 various subjects. Colonel Stanhope, who was 
 employed in a neighbouring apartment, fitting 
 up printing-presses, and Count Gamba, both came 
 into the room for a short time, and some conversa- 
 tion ensued about the newspaper, which was 
 never, to Lord Byron, a pleasant topic, as he 
 disagreed with his friends concerning it. After a 
 little time, they went their several ways, and 
 more agreeable matter of conversation was intro- 
 duced. 
 
 His Lordship began joking with me about 
 Colonel Stanhope's occupations, and said, he 
 thought the author would have his brigade of 
 artillery ready before the soldier got his printing- 
 press fixed. There was then nobody in the 
 room but his Lordship, Mr. Hesketh, and myself. 
 There was evidently a constrained manner about 
 him, and he complained of thirst ; he ordered 
 his servant to bring him some cider, which I 
 entreated him not to drink in that state. There 
 was a flush in his countenance, which seemed to 
 indicate great nervous agitation ; and as I thought 
 his Lordship had been much harassed for several 
 days past, I recommended him, at least, to qua- 
 lify his cider with some brandy. He said, he had 
 frequently drank cider, and felt no bad conse- 
 quences from it, and he accordingly drank it off. 
 
SUDDEN ILLNESS OF LORD BYRON. 4'3 
 
 Lord Byron had scarcely drunk the cider, 
 when he complained of a very strange sensation, 
 and I noticed a great change in his countenance. 
 He rose from his seat, but could not walk, stag- 
 gered a step or two, and fell into my arms. I had 
 no other stimulant than brandy at hand, and hav- 
 ing before seen it administered in similar cases, 
 with considerable benefit, I called for some of that 
 liquor, which was brought by Mr. Hesketh, and 
 we succeeded in making him swallow a small 
 quantity. In another minute his teeth were 
 closed, his speech and senses gone, and he was in 
 strong convulsions. I laid him down on the set- 
 tee, and with the assistance of his servant kept 
 him quiet. 
 
 When he fell into my arms, his countenance was 
 very much distorted, his mouth being drawn on 
 one side. After a short time, his medical atten- 
 dants came, and he speedily recovered his senses 
 and his speech. His first care was to call for 
 Colonel Stanhope, as he had something particular 
 to say to him, should there be a probability of his 
 not recovering. Colonel Stanhope was accord- 
 ingly sent for, and came from the adjoining room. 
 On recovering his senses, Lord Byron's counte- 
 nance assumed its ordinary appearance, except 
 that it was pale and haggard ; and no other effect 
 remained from his illness, than a great degree of 
 weakness. His Lordship was then carried up 
 
44 RECOVERY. HIS FOOD. 
 
 stairs, and put to bed; and we left him in charge 
 of his servants and medical attendants. 
 
 On the following day, February \6th, Lord 
 Byron was better, but his countenance was much 
 changed ; it was very pale, and he was very 
 weak. He felt a sort of gratitude and kindness 
 towards me, for the assistance I had given him, 
 and he told me I was henceforth to consider 
 myself as at home in his apartment. Thus did 
 I ever find him disposed to add to the happiness 
 of all who came about him. He inquired of 
 me, what I thought his disorder was ; — I did 
 not pretend to decide as to what the doctors 
 might call it, but I told him I was sure it arose 
 from the great irritation he had suffered, and 
 from his not taking sufficient food and stimulant 
 drinks. His Lordship had not eaten any thing 
 but cheese, fish, vegetables, and bread, for 
 several days ; and, as I have said, he had 
 been worried both out of his patience and his 
 sleep. I told him, however, that I thought 
 his disorder was an epileptic attack, arising 
 from weakness, and that it was nothing which 
 ought to alarm him, provided he took care 
 of himself, and used a more nourishing and 
 generous diet. His Lordship was of a different 
 opinion ; " He felt," he said, " a weight on the 
 fore part of his head, and he was quite sure he 
 ought to live low." '• Not too low, my Lord, for 
 
UNSKILFULNESS OP THE PHYSICIAN. 45 
 
 in this swampy place some stimulus is necessary ; 
 but your physician should know best." "Yes, 
 Parry," was his reply, " he is an excellent young 
 man, and Avell acquainted with his profession ; 
 I shall therefore be guided entirely by him." 
 To this I could not object, but begged him to 
 consider that there was, probably, some differ- 
 ence between his constitution and those of the 
 persons whom Dr. Bruno had been accustomed 
 to treat. 
 
 Unfortunately, I think, my advice was rejected. 
 Low, and weak, and half starved as Lord Byron 
 was, and debilitated beyond measure by this 
 attack, his physician resolved to bleed him, and 
 eight leeches were applied to his temples. The 
 blood (lowed copiously, but when the leeches 
 were removed, the doctors were so unskilful 
 that they could not stop the blood. It con- 
 tinued to flow on, and Lord Byron fainted. Mr. 
 Milligan was present, as well as Dr. Bruno ; 
 the latter I almost disregarded, but the former I 
 scolded aloud for his mismanagement. When I 
 saw them helpless, beside themselves, at it were, 
 while the blood was flowing, and Lord Byron 
 lay pale and senseless, the very image of death, 
 I could have sacrificed their comparatively value- 
 less lives for the one more valuable, of which I 
 thought they had deprived us for ever. I tore 
 off the strings and bands from a part of my dress, 
 
46 BYRON COURTS HIS FATE. 
 
 cut them into pieces, and made Lord Byron's 
 Italian servant burn them under his Lordship's 
 nose. I rubbed his temples and lips with 
 brandy, and did what I could to save and restore 
 him. At length the blood was staunched, and 
 Lord Byron recovered. He often joked about 
 his weakness, as if he had fainted at the sight 
 of his own blood, like a fine lady ; and reproved 
 me for my violence, as soon as he was informed 
 of the little respect I had shewn for the doctors. 
 Thus did he, by his kindness, in a manner, court 
 his own fate. Had he turned them oat of doors, 
 and returned to the habits of an English gentle- 
 man, as to his diet, he would, probably, have sur- 
 vived many years, to have vindicated with his 
 sword the wrongs of his beloved Greece, and to 
 have heaped contempt on those pretended friends, 
 who, since his death, have vilified his glorious 
 nature, because he could or would not believe 
 that a lithographic-press, Mr. Bentham's minute 
 legislation, and conning over the alphabet, 
 were the proper and most efficacious means of 
 giving freedom and independence to that suffer- 
 ing and oppressed country. 
 
47 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 DEATH OF LIEUTENANT SASS. 
 
 Plan for fortifying- Missolonghi. — Lord Byron's method of paying- the 
 expense. — Dissentions. — Method of the Greeks to get money from 
 Lord Byron. — Source of the Dispute between Byron and Stan- 
 hope. — Hopes of Capturing a Turkish brig of war. — Lord Byron's 
 humane orders and rewards as to the prisoners. — The brig de- 
 stroyed. — Negligence of the Greeks in preparing for their defence. 
 — Proposal for having gun-boats. — Lieutenant Sass enters the Hel- 
 lenic Legion. — Taken prisoner. — His sufferings. — Is released by 
 an English gentleman. — Returns home. — Sent out to Missolonghi 
 by the Greek Committee. — Appointed a Lieutenant in Lord Byron's 
 brigade. — His death. — Meeting of the Suliot chiefs at Lord Byron's. 
 — The mechanics frightened. — Resolve to leave Greece. — Receive 
 money to return to England. — Sum they cost the Greek com- 
 mittee. — Work they performed. 
 
 The day after Lord Byron's fit, on February 16th, 
 I accompanied Prince Mavrocordato to inspect 
 the fortifications of Missolonghi, which I found 
 in a most wretched and dilapidated state. With 
 the usual discrimination of persons always ac- 
 customed to command, and never to execute, 
 and with that usual discontent which follows the 
 discovery of its being impossible to execute 
 their commands as fast as they are issued, I 
 was requested to put all the fortifications in a 
 perfect state of repair, without possessing the 
 
48 FORTIFICATIONS OP MISSOLONGHI. 
 
 means. The defences were to be finished, the 
 batteries repaired, the guns remounted, the plat- 
 forms were to be levelled, the ditches cleared 
 out, a magazine was to be built,and four gun-boats 
 fitted out. All these were, unquestionably, useful 
 things ; but there was no means of immediately 
 accomplishing them. The only skilful men we 
 had, were the few mechanics who came out with 
 me from England, and their skill was rendered 
 almost valueless by their discontent. [It was 
 plain, however, that all these operations might be 
 carried into effect, if a proper plan, drawn up for 
 the purpose, were executed with energy. But 
 there did not seem to be much hope of this. 
 I had before pointed out to the Prince several 
 little things which would be useful, and might be 
 immediately executed. For example, there were 
 several Turkish guns, and considerable quanti- 
 ties of loose shot lying about the town, and at 
 the water side ; these I wished to be collected, 
 and carried to the arsenal ; as they must con- 
 stitute the materials of our defence. The guns 
 sent out from England were field-artillery, or 
 mountain-guns, proper to secure passes, and such 
 like, and the artillery for the fortifications must 
 be elsewhere provided. I had before requested 
 that these guns and shot might be collected for 
 this purpose, but in vain ; both the Prince and 
 the people seemed quite unaware that prepara- 
 
DEFENCE OF MISSOLONGHI. 49 
 
 tory labours were more certain of securing vic- 
 tory than mere animal courage ; and this, and 
 other necessary operations, remained unexe- 
 cuted. 
 
 On reporting to Lord Byron what I had seen, 
 what I had said to Prince Mavrocordato, and 
 what I thought might be done, he ordered 
 me to draw up a plan for putting the fortifica- 
 tions in thorough repair, and to accompany it 
 with an estimate of the expense. It was agreed, 
 that I should make the estimate only one-third 
 of what I thought would be the actual expense, 
 and if that third could be procured from the Magis- 
 trates, Lord Byron undertook secretly to pay the 
 remainder. With the iron and materials brought 
 out from England, some of which might be 
 spared for this purpose, we concluded that the 
 whole might be done for the sum of five thou- 
 sand dollars ; and it was therefore agreed, that 
 we should endeavour to get one thousand dollars 
 from the Greeks, with supplies of wood, and 
 the assistance of a few labourers and artificers. 
 By means of this sum, and assistance, to- 
 gether with his Lordship's advances, Misso- 
 longhi and the fort of Vasaladi might be put in 
 a complete state of defence, and gun-boats fitted 
 out, so that we might be fully prepared to meet 
 the enemy. At my request, therefore, Colonel 
 Stanhope drew up and presented a plan and 
 
 E 
 
50 FAILURE OF OUR PROJECTS. 
 
 estimate for this purpose. It will be found in 
 the Appendix. The magistrates of Missolonghi 
 and Prince Mavrocordato concurred in it, and 
 preparations were talked of for carrying it into 
 effect. 
 
 This was an additional task which Lord Byron 
 imposed on himself We were before actively 
 employed in fitting up the arsenal, and disci- 
 plining the artillery in field-exercise, organizing 
 his Lordship's brigade, &c. &c. There was work 
 enough for us already marked out, even with 
 the most zealous co-operation, both of the Greeks, 
 and among ourselves, which unfortunately did 
 not exist. The foreign adventurers disagreed 
 with one another, and with every body else ; the 
 mechanics sent from England were by no means 
 satisfied ; Lord Byron and Colonel Stanhope did 
 not both row in the same boat ; and Prince Mav- 
 rocordato and the Greek authorities were for ob- 
 taining every thing, promising every thing, and 
 doing nothing. In such a state of division, or 
 rather, slumbering discord, of all the numerous 
 and mighty projects we took in hand, not one 
 ripened into complete success. 
 
 To shew the reader how things were managed 
 in Greece, and in what way Lord Byron was 
 treated, both by the Greeks and his own coun- 
 trymen, I shall here mention what Lord Byron 
 said to me, on my talking to him about the esti- 
 
GREEK METHOD OF OBTAINING MONEY. 51 
 
 mate. — " All this is a very pretty piece of mock- 
 ery," he said ; " but the instant the estimate is 
 agreed to, the Primates will come here, and 
 under some false pretence or other, beg a loan of 
 me, to the amount required. I shall give them a 
 refusal, and they will retire, making me a thousand 
 compliments ; but after a short time, I shall be 
 visited by Prince Mavrocordato, who will find 
 some other reason for asking the loan. If I 
 refuse the Prince, I shall be again visited by 
 the Primates, and if they go away without ac- 
 complishing their errand, the Prince will again 
 renew the attack. To be plain with you, if I do 
 not advance the whole amount, your project will 
 vanish into thin air ; but if I do it in any other 
 way than secretly, as you and I have agreed on, 
 I shall have fifty projects laid before me every 
 week, and I shall speedily be reduced to beggary, 
 or obliged to quit the country, which I am de- 
 termined not to do while a chance of success re- 
 mains." 
 
 " It will be better, my Lord," I said, " not 
 to go through this farce, and, with your permis- 
 sion, I will tell Colonel Stanhope it will be of 
 no use to present the estimate. " 
 
 At this his Lordship flew into a passion, and said, 
 " Do you suppose I will give myself the trouble 
 of explaining to others every difficulty which 
 I have to encounter, and am acquainted with ? 
 
 E 2 
 
• r )2 TURKISH BRIG OF WAR. 
 
 No, No ! — Colonel Stanhope has already said, I 
 am too liberal ; the money of the committee must 
 not be intrusted to me, and I therefore will provide 
 what supplies I can for the good of the service, 
 but I will not waste my time and thoughts in 
 fruitless explanations. In a short time, Colonel 
 Stanhope will depart hence, and then our un- 
 pleasant altercations will cease. As to the 
 Greeks, and their applications, I will refer them 
 all to you, and you shall answer them agreeably 
 to my wishes. What you point out as necessary 
 for the service, and I approve of, I will find 
 means for you to perform ; but I know it is all 
 in vain to expect money from the Greeks, or 
 cordiality between Stanhope and me." 
 
 February \lth. There were considerable hopes 
 and expectations of capturing a Turkish brig of 
 war excited this day, as news came to us, that 
 one, mounting twenty-two guns, was aground 
 six or seven miles from the city. This was a sort 
 of enterprise which suited the Greeks, for there 
 was in it a promise both of vengeance and plun- 
 der ; and many of them set off in boats, as if 
 each were afraid he should lose his share of the 
 prize. They did not find the enterprise so easy ; 
 and it was evident more means must be prepared, 
 before she fell into our power. Consigning 
 my ordinary labours to the superintendence of 
 Messrs. Gill and Hodges, I set off, accompanied 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR ATTACKING HER. 53 
 
 by some other officers, to reconnoitre her. We 
 proceeded about five miles across what is called 
 the fishing ground, a considerable extent of shal- 
 lows, on which was about eighteen inches or 
 two feet of water. We ascertained that we 
 could, though with considerable difficulty, trans- 
 port stores and guns over these shallows, and 
 make an attack on the brig from a point of land 
 beyond them. It was accordingly resolved to 
 attack her in this manner, on the following day ; 
 and though it came on to rain ; in the mean 
 time, with great violence, we zealously set about 
 making preparations. 
 
 We had but two pieces of cannon fit for im- 
 mediate service ; a long three-pounder, and Mr. 
 Gordons howitzer. There were, also, two Turk- 
 ish guns, but the carriages were in such a state, 
 that it was necessary to repair them, and they 
 could not be got ready before three o'clock. I 
 waited on Lord Byron, and explained all these 
 circumstances to him ; he expressed his satisfac- 
 tion with my arrangements, and gave me orders 
 to draw on him for money to pay all the addi- 
 tional expense ; and to be sure and send him 
 word when it was likely we should begin the 
 attack on her that he might be on the spot. 
 
 On this occasion, his Lordship, with that 
 active attention to humanity which characterized 
 all his proceedings in Greece, gave me strict 
 
54< THE TURKISH BRIG BURNT. 
 
 injunctions, should any prisoners be taken, to 
 endeavour to save their lives. For this purpose, 
 he offered to give two dollars a head for every 
 prisoner saved, to pay something more for offi- 
 cers, and be at all the expense of taking care of 
 them while at Missolonghi, and of sending them 
 to a place of safety. His Lordship, knowing also 
 what would be the conduct of the Greeks, as to 
 plunder, gave me strict injunctions to keep 
 back the artillery brigade, that I might have it 
 as much as possible in my power to relieve and 
 protect the captives, should any be made. 
 
 Early in the morning of the 18th, we began 
 to prepare for our attack on the brig, In trans- 
 porting our guns, the boats grounded ; which, 
 with other unexpected impediments, brought on 
 the afternoon before our preparations were com- 
 pleted. In the mean time, three Turkish brigs 
 of war came down from Patrass, and brought up, 
 so as to enfilade the beach ; they got out their 
 boats, and endeavoured to heave the brig, which 
 was aground, afloat into deep water, but without 
 success; and seeing our preparations for an 
 attack, they thought it prudent to get out of 
 the way. They accordingly removed all the 
 men from the brig, and as many of her stores as 
 they could save ; and then, setting her on fire, 
 made sail for Patrass. She burnt down to the 
 waters' edge. Though we were disappointed of 
 
IMPROVIDENCE OF THE GREEKS. 55 
 
 our prey, we all rejoiced to see her in flames ; 
 and carried back our guns and stores to the 
 arsenal, without much grumbling, that our labour 
 had not been rewarded as we expected. 
 
 Lord Byron was highly pleased at the destruc- 
 tion of the brig, and asked particularly what loss 
 it would occasion to the Turks. I told him 
 about twenty thousand dollars ; and though one 
 small vessel of war seems of trifling moment to a 
 large empire like Turkey, yet, judging of it, 
 probably, from our own straitened means, we 
 all exulted at it, as an important achievement. 
 
 This event led Lord Byron to talk of the state 
 of affairs in Greece ; and he regretted that 
 the Greeks should have done so little to re- 
 pair the losses of the last campaign, or pre- 
 pare for the next. They were so improvi- 
 dent, or so destitute, not having either money 
 or materials, that neither in the Morea, nor in 
 Western Greece, had any preparations been 
 made to meet the enemy ; nor had the fortifica- 
 tions and other means of defence, which had 
 suffered in the late attack, been restored. The 
 fleet was laid up till L the loan should be nego- 
 tiated in England, and the money received. 
 
 What had just occurred was an additional evi- 
 dence, that six. or eight gun-boats would be of 
 essential use in defending Missolonghi and An* 
 
56 PROPOSAL TO BUILD GUN-BOATS. 
 
 natolica. With these at our command, and one of 
 them fitted up to heat shot, the Turkish fleet 
 could not, without great danger, lie at anchor to 
 blockade these places. I again represented this 
 to Lord Byron, but his Lordship said it was of 
 no use urging it any more on the Greeks; they 
 would assent to it, he knew, and would ask him 
 for money to execute it, and there the matter 
 would rest. I offered, with his Lordship's per- 
 mission, to state the matter to the Greek com- 
 mittee, and request them to send out the frames 
 of gun-boats, and the necessary materials ; or I 
 would go to the island of Hydra, where it was 
 probable I might provide them. His Lordship 
 said I could not be spared ; we might expect 
 the campaign to open in three months, and then 
 our difficulties would be much greater even than 
 at present- 
 On Thursday, February \§th, the men were 
 again at work at the arsenal, but before their 
 labours had proceeded very far, a quarrel en- 
 sued between one of the Suliotes and Lieute- 
 nant Sass, the very best, perhaps, of the fo- 
 reign officers, which ended in his assassination. 
 The whole business shews, unhappily, so well 
 what was the state of Greece, as to the discipline 
 of the soldiery, and the unfortunate effect of 
 sending foreigners to rule and guide them, as it 
 
ASSASSINATION OF SASS. 57 
 
 were, that I shall give a detailed account of this 
 melancholy affair, as far as it came within my 
 knowledge. 
 
 Sass seems to have been one of those persons 
 who are born out of season, or have got, from 
 some cause or other, so much awry, or so mis- 
 placed, among men, that though they possess the 
 best intentions, nothing succeeds with them. He 
 had a very prepossessing appearance, and seem- 
 ed destined to win his way smoothly to the goal 
 of happiness ; but his fate was very different. 
 He was born of respectable parents, in Swedish 
 Finland, and entered the military service at an 
 early period. He served with credit, both in the 
 Swedish and Swiss armies, but without obtain- 
 ing distinction ; and at the peace, like many 
 others, was disbanded, having nothing but his 
 sword wherewith to carve his fortune. 
 
 It is to the credit of England, though her citi- 
 zens foster the mercenary spirit of mere soldier- 
 ship less than any other people of Europe, that she 
 does not suffer her defenders, when their services 
 are not required, to die of ingratitude, neglect, 
 and hunger. Though the pittance she gives be 
 small, it is enough to preserve life ; but this can- 
 not, in general, be said of the nations of the con- 
 tinent ; and in them, the military sovereigns who 
 are at the head of the governments, seem afraid 
 of their own tools, and break and cast them 
 
58 PREVIOUS SUFFERINGS OF SASS. 
 
 away, the instant their services can be dispensed 
 with. 
 
 Sass was in this situation at the beginning of 
 the Greek contest, and was induced to join the 
 German Hellenic regiment. It was fitted out, 
 at a great expense, by subscriptions among the 
 Germans who were friendly to the Greek cause ; 
 but on reaching Greece, these volunteer soldiers 
 were doomed to suffering and neglect ; in fact, 
 the disorganized state of Greece, no part of the 
 country, except the islands, having the least par- 
 ticle of disposable produce, and all the exertions 
 of their inhabitants being wisely directed to 
 their shipping, as the best means of enriching 
 and defending their country, rendered it utterly 
 impossible to subsist in it a corps of foreign 
 troops like the Philhellenians ; unless, as in the 
 manner of the Turks, they could compel the in- 
 habitants to supply them. There is some reason 
 to believe, that all the foreigners who have been 
 in the service of Greece have had recourse to this 
 means; and as the Greeks did not throw off the 
 yoke of one tyrant to submit to that of another, 
 quarrels necessarily ensued, and the foreigners, 
 being in this case the weaker party, were both ill- 
 treated and half starved. Considering only their 
 own good intentions, and not the light in which 
 the Greeks interpreted them, they complained 
 bitterly of ingratitude ; and at length, half de- 
 
SOLD AS A SLAVE. 59 
 
 stroyed by their combats with the Turks, and 
 half famished by the neglect of the Greeks, the 
 Hellenic corps was broken up. 
 
 Sass lived through all these fatigues, pri- 
 vations, and contumelies ; then, partly from 
 being unprovided for, partly from having a strong 
 attachment to the cause of Greece, he embarked 
 for Candia, with a view of joining the patriots in 
 that island. On the voyage he was captured by 
 a Turkish vessel, and subjected to the grossest 
 insults, and most brutal cruelty. Some of these 
 things cannot be related ; but it may be mention- 
 ed, that it was one of the amusements of the 
 Turkish soldiers to draw their sabres across 
 his neck, and to point their carbines at him, so 
 that he frequently expected instant assassination. 
 Half famished, beaten, and in a state of torture, 
 death would, probably, have been mercy, but the 
 continued apprehension of the stroke was dread- 
 ful; and probably nothing but his sensibility being- 
 blunted by previous sufferings preserved his rea- 
 son unimpaired. He was carried to Alexandria, 
 and thence sent up to Grand Cairo, where he was 
 sold as a slave. The humanity and generosity of 
 an English gentleman released him from slavery, 
 and provided him with the means of returning to 
 his native country. On his arrival, hearing of the 
 expedition which was preparing in England, he 
 went to London, and offered his services to the 
 
60 REJOINS THE GREEKS. 
 
 Greek committee. This body provided him with 
 the means of again reaching Greece, but, like 
 other adventurers, when he arrived he had no 
 funds to maintain himself. Becoming known to 
 Lord Byron, his Lordship appointed him a Lieu- 
 tenant in his brigade, and here Sass behaved in a 
 prudent and careful manner. He was, undoubt- 
 edly, by far the most useful foreign officer who 
 was then in Greece, and his loss was proportion- 
 ably regretted. 
 
 Sass was on duty on the 19th, at the Seraglio, 
 or the arsenal, where all our stores were depo- 
 sited. There were at that time a great number 
 of Suliotes at Missolonghi, as well as a number of 
 adventurers of all nations and all sorts of charac- 
 ters, and though we were anxious to teach our 
 arts to the Suliotes and the other Greeks, who 
 were therefore permitted to range round the 
 arsenal at pleasure, yet, as several things had 
 been pilfered, which made precaution neces- 
 sary, the guards had orders to watch closely who- 
 ever entered, and not to allow perfect strangers 
 to come in. One of the Suliotes, however, a very 
 brave soldier, who had distinguished himself in 
 the night attack which Botzaris made on the 
 Turkish camp, and in which he fell, wished that 
 morning to enter the arsenal, as he had done 
 before ; but not being known to the serjeant on 
 guard, not a Greek, he was not allowed to pass. 
 
MANNER OF HIS DEATH. 61 
 
 The Suliote insisted on forcing his way, and the 
 Serjeant prevented him. A quarrel was, of 
 course, the consequence, and Lieutenant Sass, 
 hearing the disturbance, hastened to the spot. 
 The Greek was armed, like all his countrymen, 
 with a brace of pistols, and his yatagan or dag- 
 ger, and was a strong, powerful man. Sass, too, 
 was athletic and fearless, but, perhaps, con- 
 sidering the irritation which existed between 
 the foreigners and the Greeks, was not suf- 
 ficiently temperate on this occasion ; he instantly 
 drew his sword, and struck the Greek with the 
 flat part of it. The latter shook himself clear of 
 his first antagonist, and drawing his yatagan 
 with one hand, while he drew forth a pistol 
 with the other, made a desperate attack on Sass. 
 The first attack was parried, and the Suliote re- 
 ceived a wound in the neck ; the second was 
 fatal, and the unfortunate Sass was at the same 
 instant shot in the head, and received a cut 
 which almost severed his arm from his body. 
 He remained alive, but senseless and speechless, 
 about an hour, and then the existence of the adven- 
 turous but unfortunate Sass terminated for ever. 
 He left, I have understood, a wife, then living at 
 Malma, in Sweden ; and Byron, with that atten- 
 tion to the feelings and wants of others which 
 always distinguished him, thought immediately of 
 contributing to her comfort in a pecuniary way. 
 
62 APPREHENSIONS FROM THE SULTOTES. 
 
 In the next communication made to the Greek 
 committee, he requested that a small sum might 
 be sent her, on his account. 
 
 The Suliote was arrested, but immediately after- 
 wards set at liberty, on his Captain promising 
 that an inquiry should be made, and justice 
 done. The event took place so suddenly, that 
 interference was impossible. On its being known 
 in the town, the confusion became very great ; 
 the English and other foreigners gathered round 
 Lord Byron ; a thousand exaggerated rumours 
 were instantly set on foot ; and, as the Suliotes 
 were not liked by the inhabitants, there was an 
 apprehension the town would be sacked, or that 
 we should at least come to open war. At Lord 
 Byron's quarters, preparations were made as for 
 a siege. The guns were prepared, and pointed 
 towards the gate, and all the precautions in our 
 power were taken, to prevent surprise. The main 
 body of the Suliotes assembled round the house, 
 threatening to attack it, and to murder every 
 foreigner. Their momentary fury was, probably, 
 checked by the sight of our preparations, and 
 when this had subsided, we were able to settle 
 the matter in a more amicable way. 
 
 I proceded to the arsenal, to make inquiries 
 into the matter, and drew up a fair report, as 
 far as I could collect information, of the whole 
 affray : Lord Byron, in the mean time, sent for 
 
BYRON'S INTERVIEW WITH THE CAPTAINS. 63 
 
 the Suliote Captains, and they agreed to wait on 
 him. In fact, on my return, I found him in his 
 full dress, as Colonel of the brigade, surrounded 
 by the Suliote chiefs, each of whom was in the 
 full costume of his country. They were all fine- 
 looking men, and all being animated by this un- 
 fortunate event, formed as fine a picture as the 
 eye could well behold. The report which I had 
 drawn up was read and interpreted. Lord Byron 
 addressed the chiefs, also, through the medium of 
 an interpreter, calmness was gradually restored, 
 and the chiefs pledged themselves that justice 
 should be done. They got up, put on their 
 shoes, made a profound obeisance to Lord 
 Byron, crossing their arms at the same time on 
 their breast, and retired to restore quiet among 
 their soldiers. There was something pathetic 
 in this peaceable conclusion to so threatening an 
 affair ; and though Lord Byron was still very 
 unwell, few men, I believe, could have conducted 
 themselves with more dignity and more prudence 
 on so trying an occasion. 
 
 All this, however, harassed him very much, 
 and though he made a fine display, when his 
 energies were roused into action, his general 
 health suffered from this excessive mental stimu- 
 lus and exertion. Greater and increasing de- 
 bility was the consequence ; and, as he had 
 some even still more unpleasant altercations 
 
G4 THE MECHANICS RESOLVE TO RETURN. 
 
 to go through, and still more gratingly-unplea- 
 sant scenes to witness, he gradually decayed, and 
 soon fell a sacrifice to his own feelings, and the 
 improper treatment of those who might have had 
 more respect for the peculiarities of genius. 
 
 Friday, February 20th. It was gratifying to all 
 the foreigners at Missolonghi, to witness the 
 respect the inhabitants paid to Lieutenant Sass. 
 He was interred with all the honours the Greek 
 church could bestow ; and, for our parts, we 
 suspended our labours for the day, to consecrate 
 it to his funeral. 
 
 The death of Sass was, in its consequences, 
 very disastrous; it increased the anger and 
 hostility which already existed between the 
 foreign officers and the Greeks, and it alarmed 
 all the mechanics who came out from England 
 with me. One of them, also, in a tumult which 
 ensued, had his hat cut open by the Greeks; and 
 this contributed to make all the rest suspicious. 
 They were apprehensive for their safety, and 
 declared they would work no more. They said 
 they had stipulated to be sent to a place where 
 they should be safe, and they would not re- 
 main at Missolonghi. The contract was broken 
 which had been made with them, and they felt 
 themselves at liberty to return. They accord- 
 ingly appealed to Colonel Stanhope, represented 
 the dangers they were exposed to, and requested 
 
EXPENSE OF THE MECHANICS. 65 
 
 to be sent back to England. The Colonel, they 
 told me, had acceded to their request, and agreed 
 to give them ten pounds per man for their pas- 
 sage home. He took all the blame on himself 
 for bringing them to such a place, and he would 
 take care, he said, to provide them a passage 
 back. 
 
 I considered their conduct to have been ex- 
 tremely improper. They ought to have known, 
 before-hand, what their situation was likely to be j 
 at least, the Greek committee, which had several 
 agents in Greece, such as they were, should have 
 taken care to have informed them, previously to 
 engaging their services. They had done very 
 little since they came, and seemed, indeed, so 
 little disposed to work, that the actual loss we 
 suffered by their departure was not great ; but 
 still they were the class and sort of men most 
 wanted, and I felt very angry at their pro- 
 ceedings. I refused to take any part in them ; 
 but they found favour with Colonel Stanhope, and 
 he acceded to their requests. 
 
 I was obliged to represent the business to 
 Lord Byron, and the men received sixty pounds, 
 or two hundred and eighty-seven dollars ; inde- 
 pendent of forty-two dollars it cost to procure 
 them a passage to Zante. They received bills 
 for the sum, which were converted into cash at 
 that island. It may be worth while here to 
 
 F 
 
CG ONE OF THEM A MISSIONARY. 
 
 mention, as probably some of my readers sub- 
 scribed for the support of the Greek cause, and 
 may therefore like to know in what manner 
 their money was expended, that these six me- 
 chanics received from the committee, for them- 
 selves, their wives, and families, the sum of 
 two hundred and fifty-six pounds ten shillings, 
 independent of the sum paid for their passage 
 home, and other charges, making the whole ex- 
 pense, at least, equal to three hundred and forty 
 pounds. They had never been called on to 
 spend one penny on account of provisions and 
 lodgings, from the day they le£t England, till 
 their arrival at Missolonghi ; and they were 
 permitted to carry out small ventures, without 
 any charge for freight. One of them, also, a 
 protege of Colonel Stanhope's, had carried out 
 a number of tracts, and in addition to his 
 avocations as a mechanic, was charged by the 
 Missionary Society, at a salary of twenty pounds, 
 to spread a knowledge of true religion, or of 
 Wesleyism, among the heathen Turks and the 
 heretical Greeks. He was one of the foremost to 
 retreat from danger, but he managed to pick up 
 a little something by his piety, to comfort him in 
 his retreat. The services they rendered to the 
 cause of Greece for this three hundred and forty 
 pounds, were fourteen days' work at Missolon- 
 ghi, so that every day's work of each of these 
 
COST OP THE WORK THEY PERFORMED. G7 
 
 artisans, and it was not much they did in a day, 
 was purchased by the Greek committee for the 
 sum of something more than four pounds one 
 shilling. There may have been wisdom in such 
 management, but it appears to me to have been a 
 mode of expending money which no individual 
 would have followed with his own funds. 
 
 F 2 
 
68 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 LORD BYRON, AS GENERAL AND COMMISSIONER. 
 
 Mutiny among- the Suliotes — The mechanics embark for Zante — Shock 
 of an Earthquake — Superstitious custom of the Greeks— Mutiny 
 amongst the Germans — Lord Byron's Corps disbanded — Is re-or- 
 ganized — Business of the Laboratory — Lord Byron's Suliote guard — 
 His dog Lyon — His guard attend him in his rides — Specimen of the 
 state of Missolonghi — Lord Byron's daily occupations — His food, and 
 manner of living — His partiality to curious weapons — State of the 
 weather — Requisitions by Ulysses and General Londa — Improper 
 articles in Newspapers — Colonel Stanhope goes to Athens — His re- 
 quisitions — Proceedings in March — An alarm of plague — Discipline 
 of the Brigade — Must pay the Greeks for doing their own work — 
 Divisions among the Greek chieftains — Lord Byron inviteJ to quit 
 Missolonghi — Colocotroni wishes to get him into the Morea — Op- 
 posing views of Mavrocordato — His hopes of effecting a union of the 
 chiefs — Prospect of a Congress at Salona — Lord Byron obliged 
 again to interfere about a newspaper — Receives the freedom of Mis- 
 solonghi — Numerous applications to him for Money — Further defence 
 of Missolonghi — Desertions from Colocotroni's forces — News of the 
 Greek loan — Plan for the campaign — Difficulties of Lord Byron's 
 situation in Greece. 
 
 '"From the time when Lieutenant Sass was killed 
 up to Lord Byron's own death, all his lordship's 
 thoughts and time were actively occupied with 
 the affairs of Greece. For this reason I shall 
 confine this part of my narrative to his lordship's 
 proceedings in his military and civil capacity, as 
 
MUTINY. AN EARTHQUAKE. 69 
 
 connected with Greece. With these proceedings, 
 too, I was intimately connected, Lord Byron not 
 having taken any step without informing me of 
 it, and very often honouring me by asking my 
 advice as to his plans, and always requiring my 
 assistance to carry them into execution. 
 
 On February 21. 5/, there was a sort of mutiny 
 amongst the Suliotes, who refused to march, on 
 account of their arrears not having been paid up. 
 Lord Byron was, as usual, instantly applied to by 
 Prince Mavrocordato, and advanced 4,800 dollars 
 to enable him to pay up the arrears. On this 
 the Suliotes promised to march in two days to 
 Arta, and scour the country. At the same time 
 Lord Byron notified to them that they must not 
 henceforward consider him as personally respon- 
 sible for their pay. 
 
 The mechanics, though they had not yet de- 
 parted, had entirely given up working, and the 
 town was in a complete state of tumult ; all our 
 labours were, therefore, for the moment, suspend- 
 ed. Lord Byron had frequent, almost daily, con- 
 ferences with Prince Mavrocordato ; and numer- 
 ous communications with the Suliote and other 
 chiefs ; but they all ended, as might have been 
 expected, in nothing. 
 
 On the evening of this day Ave had a smart 
 shock of an earthquake. All the inhabitants 
 who possessed tire-arms, and all the Suliotes, im- 
 
70 SUPERSTITIOUS CUSTOM OP GREEKS. 
 
 mediately ran for their carbines, and began firing 
 iway as fast as they could. They did this, from 
 mtertaining a sort of superstitious notion that 
 hey might by it avert the effects of the earth- 
 ]uake, or check its progress. Having so many 
 ubjects of alarm, we supposed, on hearing this 
 musual firing, that the Suliotes and the inhabit- 
 ants had at length actually come to blows, and 
 vere attacking each other. Our apprehension was 
 ■hanged into a hearty laugh, when we learnt that 
 hey were never more united, and were all, as if 
 lirected by one mind, waging fierce hostility 
 gainst the aerial prince of earthquakes. This 
 ntelligence came timely also to relieve us from 
 he effects of our own fears. I was sitting, with 
 wo or three young Englishmen, at our quarters, 
 /hen the earthquake took place. None of us 
 new at first what it was, and being naturally 
 mch alarmed, for the shock was violent, we all 
 lade for the door as fast as we could, and some 
 onfusion ensued as to who should be the first to 
 lake his escape. Perhaps, too, a quarrel might 
 ave been the consequence, but for the Greek 
 msketry. This circumstance coming to Lord 
 'yron's knowledge, gave him an opportunity of 
 lughing at us, and putting a sort of joke on us 
 'hich I shall mention in another place. 
 On the 22d, the mechanics embarked for Zante, 
 hich was the only event that distinguished this 
 
LORD BYRON'S CORPS DISBANDED. 71 
 
 from the other days of confusion we were now 
 compelled to witness. 
 
 On the 23d, our other misfortunes were aug- 
 mented, by a mutiny among the German officers 
 sent out from England by the committee. Each 
 wanted to command, and none would obey. 
 Lord Byron became sensible of the inutility, if 
 not the folly, of employing this sort of etiquette- 
 soldiers in Greece, and seeing all his wishes, and 
 all his hopes, disappointed by those who came 
 out to further the cause he was so zealously 
 struggling to advance, he resolved to break up 
 his corps, and after getting rid of these men, to 
 form it anew. The corps was accordingly dis- 
 banded ; all the officers and men received a 
 month's pay each, and were at liberty to retire 
 where they pleased. 
 
 Lord Byron formed what I thought a correct 
 notion on this subject. He said, when we pos- 
 sessed the materials of war, such as money, am- 
 munition, and guns, the Greeks might be taught 
 and disciplined, and would make far better sol- 
 diers than the barons and knights who came out 
 to Greece only to be colonels and generals. 
 " Besides," his lordship remarked, " there is an 
 inveterate hatred amongst the Greeks of all these 
 foreigners ; and sending them here has done the 
 Greek cause far more mischief, than ever the 
 little, and unfortunately misapplied, assistance 
 
72 CORPS RE-ORGANIZED- 
 
 given by the Germans and English has done 
 good." 
 
 Here again arose another difficulty : What were 
 the foreigners to do ? the Suliotes in particular 
 were highly irritated against them ; if they re- 
 mained disorganized they might all be massacred, 
 and in fact, on the following day, February 2Ath, 
 there was every appearance of a general tumult. 
 Prince Mavrocordato was alarmed, and appre- 
 hended bloodshed would ensue. The foreigners 
 petitioned to be retained in service, the Primates 
 and the prince, dreading the Suliotes ; and afraid 
 they should be left quite unsupported, enforced 
 the prayer of the petition by their own represen- 
 tations and requests. However unwilling his 
 lordship was again to bring on himself the bur- 
 den of a disobedient regiment, he was, in some 
 measure, obliged to comply ; and on the 26th, it 
 was settled that the corps should be immediately 
 re-organized. 
 
 Lord Byron did me the honour to impose this 
 service on me; and I accepted it, on condition 
 that the officers selected should consent to be 
 drilled, that they might learn their duty as sol- 
 diers, and the more necessary duty of obedience. 
 Selecting, accordingly, from among those who had 
 petitioned to be kept, such as we thought most 
 likely to answer our views, we re-organized the 
 corps. They consented to the drilling, and pro- 
 
BUSINESS OF THE LABORATORY. 73 
 
 mised afterwards to act as squad-scrjeants to drill 
 the men. Prince Mavrocordato sent me a com- 
 mission as captain-commandant of the corps, and 
 accompanied it by a flattering letter, approving 
 of my services, from the time of my arrival in 
 Greece. 
 
 All this time the most material part of the ser- 
 vice, that of the laboratory and arsenal, was un- 
 fortunately suspended. On the 26th, however, I 
 found time to engage a few tradesmen, such as 
 they were, and ten active seamen, to make wads, 
 &c. With their assistance, the preparation of 
 materials was again commenced, but unfortu- 
 nately with limited advantages. 
 
 Even on this subject, which Lord Byron pro- 
 bably thought, as he had to supply all the funds, — 
 the government having none, and the committee 
 not having provided a farthing for this purpose, — 
 was his and my peculiar province, he had to com- 
 plain of the interference of Colonel Stanhope. 
 Without consulting his lordship, the colonel ad- 
 vertised for a number of young men to be in- 
 structed in the business of the arsenal and labo- 
 ratory ; which was quartering a number of hands 
 on his lordship's purse, whether he liked it or 
 not. Such petty vexations were a great annoy- 
 ance to Lord Byron. He had never before been 
 engaged in any such business of detail, and had 
 probably never met this sort of opposition and 
 
74 LORD byron's suliote guard. 
 
 unpleasant kind of controlling interference. Co- 
 lonel Stanhope imagined also that he was a much 
 wiser man in all such matters than Lord Byron, 
 and added to the unpleasantness of the circum- 
 stance by his manner of interfering. 
 
 Lord Byron had taken a small corps of Suliotes 
 into his own pay, and kept them about him as a 
 body-guard. They consisted altogether of fifty- 
 six men, and of these a certain number were al- 
 ways on duty. A large outer room in his lord- 
 ship's house was appropriated to them, and their 
 carbines were suspended against the walls. Like 
 other soldiers, they found various means to amuse 
 themselves when on guard. While some were 
 walking about, discoursing violently and eagerly, 
 with animated gestures, others were lying or 
 sitting on the floor, playing at cards. 
 
 In this room, and among these rude soldiers, 
 Lord Byron was accustomed to walk a great deal, 
 particularly in wet weather. On such occasions 
 he was almost always accompanied by his fa- 
 vourite dog Lyon, who was perhaps his dearest 
 and most affectionate friend. They were, indeed, 
 very seldom separated. Riding or walking, 
 sitting or standing, Lyon was his constant 
 attendant. He can scarcely be said to have 
 forsaken him even in his sleep. Every even- 
 ing did he go to sec that his master was safe, be- 
 fore he lay down himself, and then he took his 
 
HIS DOG LYON. 75 
 
 station close to his door, a guard certainly as 
 faithful, though not so efficient, as Lord Byron's 
 corps of Suliotes. This valuable and affectionate 
 animal was brought to England after Lord By- 
 ron's death, and is now, I believe, in the posses- 
 sion of Mrs. Leigh, his Lordship's sister. 
 
 With Lyon Lord Byron was accustomed, not 
 only to associate, but to commune very much, and 
 very often. His most usual phrase was, " Lyon, 
 you are no rogue, Lyon;" or "Lyon," his Lord- 
 ship would say, "thou art an honest fellow, Lyon." 
 The dog's eyes sparkled, and his tail swept the 
 floor, as he sat with his haunches on the ground. 
 " Thou art more faithful than men, Lyon ; I trust 
 thee more." Lyon sprang up, and barked and 
 bounded round his master, as much as to say, 
 "You may trust me, I will watch actively on every 
 side." " Lyon, I love thee, thou art my faith- 
 ful dog !" and Lyon jumped and kissed his mas- 
 ter's hand, as an acknowledgement of his homage. 
 In this sort of mingled talk and gambol Lord 
 Byron passed a good deal of time, and seemed 
 more contented, more calmly self-satisfied, on 
 such occasions, than almost on any other. In 
 conversation and in company he was animated 
 and brilliant ; but with Lyon and in stillness he 
 was pleased and perfectly happy. 
 
 When Lord Byron rode out, he was also at- 
 
76 LORD BYRON'S rides. 
 
 tended by his Suliote guards. The captain, and a 
 certain number, all on foot, preceded his Lord- 
 ship. Then came Lord Byron on horseback, 
 accompanied on one side by Count Gamba, and 
 on the other by the Greek interpreter. Behind 
 him rode two attendants ; generally, these were 
 his black groom and Tita, both dressed like 
 the chasseurs usually seen behind the carriages of 
 ambassadors, and another division of his guard 
 closed the cavalcade. It was to me very sur- 
 prising to see the swiftness of the Suliotcs. 
 Though they carried their carbines, they were 
 always able to keep up with the horses, and 
 Lord Byron sometimes put his cattle to their ut- 
 most speed. If their activity may be considered 
 as at all resulting from the races in which their 
 ancestors were so distinguished, we should find 
 it difficult to bestow too much praise on such 
 gymnastic exercises. But it should probably ra- 
 ther be attributed to their climate, their habits of 
 life, and their frames being originally nervous 
 and well formed. Whatever may have been the 
 source of their fleetness, they were able to keep 
 up with Lord Byron in his rides, and whenever 
 he quitted the town on horseback, they accom- 
 panied him, being answerable both to Greece 
 and Britain for his safety. They were tall 
 men, and remarkably well formed; and perhaps, 
 take them altogether, no sovereign of Europe 
 

 I 
 
 vN~\ 
 
 \ 
 
- 
 
EMPLOYMENT OF HIS TIME. 77 
 
 can boast of having a finer set of men for his 
 body-guard. 
 
 It may serve to give the reader some idea of 
 the state of Missolonghi, if I here mention the 
 circuitous route which Lord Byron was obliged 
 to use to get out of the town. Such was the 
 wretched state of the pavement, and such the 
 condition of the streets, that it was impossible to 
 ride through them without the risk of breaking 
 one's neck. Lord Byron's horses were therefore 
 generally led to the gate of the town, and his 
 Lordship, embarking in his little punt, was rowed 
 along the harbour, and up what is called the 
 military canal. This terminating not far from the 
 gate, his Lordship again landed, mounted his 
 horse, and rode away. 
 
 The mode in which Lord Byron disposed of 
 his time may be sketched in the history of a 
 single day. In whatever manner he may for- 
 merly have lived, during the time that I knew 
 him in Greece, he was perfectly regular and 
 systematic in his habits. 
 
 He always rose at nine o'clock, or a little later, 
 and breakfasted about ten. This meal consisted 
 of tea without either milk or sugar, dry toast, 
 and water cresses. During his breakfast, I ge- 
 nerally waited on him to make any reports which 
 were necessary, and take his orders for the labours 
 of the day. When this business was settled, 
 
78 MODE OP LIVING. 
 
 I retired to give the necessary directions to the 
 different officers, and returned so as to be back 
 by eleven o'clock, or a quarter before. His 
 Lordship then inspected the accounts, and in 
 conjunction with his secretary, checked and au- 
 dited every item in a business-like manner. 
 
 If the weather permitted, he afterwards rode 
 out; if it did not, he used to amuse himself by 
 shooting at a mark with pistols. Though his 
 hand trembled much, his aim was sure, and he 
 could hit an egg four times out of five at the 
 distance of ten or twelve yards. 
 
 It was at this period of the day also, if he did 
 not ride out, that he was generally visited by 
 Prince Mavrocordato and the Primates. If he 
 rode out, the latter visited him towards three or 
 four o'clock, and the former came later in the 
 evening, like one of his private friends. His rides 
 were seldom extended beyond two hours, as he 
 then returned and dined. 
 
 The reader may form an idea of the fever of 
 which Lord Byron died, when I mention his 
 food. He ate very sparingly, and what he did 
 eat was neither nourishing, nor heating, nor 
 blood-making food. He very rarely touched 
 flesh, ate very little fish, used neither spices nor 
 sauces, and dined principally off dried toast, 
 vegetables, and cheese. He drank a very small 
 quantity of wine or cider; but indulged in the 
 
PRIVATIONS HE SUBMITTED TO. 79 
 
 use of no spirituous liquors. He took nothing of 
 any consequence during the remainder of the 
 day, and I verily believe, as far as his own per- 
 sonal consumption was concerned, there was not 
 a single Greek soldier in the garrison who did 
 not eat more, and more luxuriously, than this ten- 
 derly brought-up, and long-indulged English gen- 
 tleman and nobleman. He who had fed only on 
 the richest viands of the most luxuriant parts of 
 Europe, whose palate had been tickled, from his 
 earliest days, with the choicest wines, now, at the 
 call of humanity and freedom, submitted to live 
 on the coarsest and meanest fare. He was ready, 
 like some general of old Rome, to share the pri- 
 vations of the meanest soldier ; and he shewed, 
 both by what he submitted to, and by the dangers 
 he braved, that his love of liberty and of the good 
 cause of mankind was not limited to writing: a few 
 words in their favour from a comfortable well- 
 warmed library ; or to sending from a table, smok- 
 ing with all the superfluities of French cookery, a 
 small check on his banker. The propriety and 
 utility of some of his measures may possibly ad- 
 mit of a doubt, as, in fact, they have been cen- 
 sured ; but of the purity of his intentions, and the 
 intcnscness of his zeal, the dangers he encoun- 
 tered, the privations he submitted to, the time 
 and money he bestowed, and the life he for- 
 
80 EVENING OCCUPATIONS. 
 
 feited, there are such proofs as no other man in 
 this age and country has given. 
 
 After his dinner Lord Byron attended the 
 drilling of the officers of his corps in an outer 
 apartment of his own dwelling. Here again he 
 set an admirable example. He submitted to be 
 drilled with them, and went through all those 
 exercises it was proper for them to learn. When 
 these were finished, he very often played a game 
 of single-stick, or indulged in some other severe 
 muscular exertion. He then retired for the 
 evening, and conversed with friends, or employed 
 himself, using the little assistance I was able to 
 give him, studying military tactics. At eleven 
 o'clock I left him, and I w r as generally the last 
 person he saw except his servants, and then he 
 retired, not however to sleep, but to study. Till 
 nearly four o'clock every morning he was con- 
 tinually engaged reading or writing, and rarely 
 slept more than five hours; getting up again, 
 as I have already said, at nine o'clock. In this 
 manner did Lord Byron pass nearly every day 
 of the time I had the pleasure of knowing him. 
 
 Lord Byron had one little hobby, which he 
 has shared, I believe, with many distinguished 
 men. He had a great fondness for curious arms 
 of every description. He never saw a handsome 
 or a useful sabre, a curious or a good pair of 
 
PARTIALITY FOR CURIOUS WEAPONS. 81 
 
 pistols, or a carbine of a peculiar construction, 
 but he coveted it, and generally contrived to ob- 
 tain it, at however great a cost. He had conse- 
 quently a perfect magazine of curious and extra- 
 ordinary, but at the same time useful, weapons ; 
 and though his armoury could not compare with 
 that at the Tower, it probably was not surpassed 
 by the collection of any private man. 
 
 The reader will perhaps think a minute journal 
 of our proceedings only tiresome, when every 
 day nearly brought forward the same exertions in 
 disciplining and drilling the men, the same con- 
 tests among the Suliotes and the foreigners, the 
 same sort of disputes among the individuals of 
 the latter, and the same sort of discord among 
 those who should have known better, which I 
 have already described. I shall therefore only 
 mention those days on which any thing occurred 
 worthy of notice. The general features of the 
 scene I have already sketched, and I have just 
 described how Lord Byron passed his time. For 
 the future I shall only mention such events as 
 serve to throw light on the state of Greece, or on 
 Lord Byron's character. 
 
 Lord Byron's health was somewhat better, and 
 he rode out once or twice towards the latter end 
 of February. But very soon heavy rains again 
 occurred ; the weather was both cold and wet, 
 and though a fire in the apart Jaent would have 
 
 G 
 
82 STATE OF THE WEATHER. 
 
 certainly been acceptable, none was made. I 
 do not remember to have seen a thermometer at 
 Missolonghi, and I cannot therefore say what was 
 the temperature, but I am confident, from a re- 
 collection of my own feelings, that it was at times 
 fully as cold as the west of England at the same 
 season. The place was naturally damp, and 
 this, with the season of the year, made precau- 
 tions necessary, which unfortunately Lord Byron 
 would not take himself, and which nobody took 
 for him. 
 
 In the latter end of February, General Londa, 
 an old personal friend of Lord Byron's, who was 
 then in the Morea, sent to ask us to give him 
 two mountain guns. Lord Byron acceded to his 
 request, and not only promised Londa the guns, 
 but undertook to have two officers and twelve 
 men taught the artillery service, if Londa would 
 send proper persons to Missolonghi. The chief- 
 tain named Ulysses, or Odysseus, also made 
 an application for gunpowder and small stores, 
 which Byron complied with, and sent him, with 
 other stores, six barrels of powder, packed up, 
 as such things are in Greece, in sheep skins. 
 
 About the same period also Lord Byron re- 
 ceived notice from the Ionian Islands, that the 
 newspaper printed at Missolonghi would no 
 longer be permitted to circulate there wihout 
 some restriction, as the last number contained a 
 
 
GREEK NEWSPAPER STOPPED AT ZANTF.. 83 
 
 tirade against kings in general. This gave Lord 
 Byron a great deal of vexation. In answer Lord 
 Byron explained, that it was neither his nor the 
 Prince's fault. The printer of the paper was a 
 German, and those who wrote the articles never 
 submitted them for inspection. They were per- 
 sons possessing power and authority, who could 
 not well be controlled, and who had unfortu- 
 nately more zeal than discretion. He promised, 
 however, that he would do what lay in his power 
 to prevent such articles appearing in future. 
 Though his Lordship had contributed to estab- 
 lish this paper, he was not at that time aware 
 what would be its consequences ; and though he 
 was far from wishing to check discussion among 
 the Greeks themselves, he had a great aversion 
 to a parcel of adventurers mingling up the po- 
 litics of Europe with the affairs of Greece. The 
 latter he wished to be considered, what it really 
 was, a contest on the frontiers of civilization and 
 barbarism, to extend the dominion of the former. 
 What this had to do with theories of govern- 
 ment, which may well employ the speculations of 
 men when their lives and property are secured, 
 Lord Byron did not comprehend; and he was 
 proportionably annoyed at seeing his endeavours 
 to preserve a good understanding with the au- 
 thorities of Zantc, and to hold up the Greek 
 cause to the respect and sympathy of Europe, 
 
 G 2 
 
84 DEPARTURE OP COLONEL STANHOPE. 
 
 thwarted in this manner by the rude interfer- 
 ence of some theoretical zealots. The paper, he 
 said, was intended for any body but the Greeks, 
 as not one in a thousand of them would or could 
 read it, and without being of the least benefit to 
 them, it constantly tended to involve the already 
 weak and divided authorities of Greece in dis- 
 putes with the government of the Ionian Islands. 
 He repeated that he did not know why Greece, 
 which had no interest in the contest of the 
 parties of Europe, should be made the arena 
 where those who were defeated elsewhere, might 
 renew the contest, or even boast of a triumph. 
 
 Towards the end of February, however, Colo- 
 nel Stanhope departed for Athens ; and though 
 this relieved Lord Byron from some personal al- 
 tercations, and] from the remonstrances of a 
 would-be Mentor, it made a sort of open division 
 among the English in Greece. Henceforth there 
 were two head-quarters for them, two commis- 
 sioners from the Greek committee having differ- 
 ent views, and steering different courses, and 
 each attached to a different interest and different 
 party among the Greeks. Lord Byron, who had 
 no love for theories of government in the then 
 condition of Greece, attached himself to the party 
 of Mavrocordato and practical civil order ; Co- 
 lonel Stanhope, the champion of liberal opinions, 
 the great man for a press and newspaper, united 
 
REQUISITIONS FROM ATHENS. 85 
 
 himself at Athens with Odysseus and the other 
 military chieftains, and seemed to wish that all 
 the supplies sent out from England might be 
 placed under their control. Henceforth all that 
 Byron had done was to be undone ; and what 
 he was doing was to be opposed. 
 
 The first fruits of this division was a requisition 
 in the early part of March from Colonel Stanhope, 
 directed to Lord Byron, to send him 30 whole 
 barrels of gunpowder, a brigade of guns, with 
 remounts, paper, and other stores, from Mis- 
 solonghi to Athens. He also requested that Mr. 
 Hodges or Mr. Gill, two persons connected with the 
 laboratory department, might be sent to Athens. 
 Lord Byron refused the gunpowder. Prince 
 Mavrocordato, who seems generally to have 
 looked with an eye of some suspicion on Odys- 
 seus, particularly requested that Lord Byron 
 would not send any more powder from Misso- 
 longhi and Anatolica, as the whole supply was 
 not adequate to the defence of these places, only 
 sixty-one barrels having ever been sent from 
 England. Missolonghi and Anatolica he repre- 
 sented as of the utmost importance ; and this 
 opinion had before been generally acceded to. 
 Were these places captured, it was said the 
 whole sea coast would be in the hands of the 
 Turks, all the trade between Western Greece 
 and the islands destroyed, and a free passage 
 
86 OCCURRENCES IN MARCH. 
 
 opened for the Albanians in the service of the 
 Turks to proceed into the Morea. It was there- 
 fore settled between Prince Mavrocordato and 
 Lord Byron, that they would on no account 
 weaken their means for defending Missolonghi. 
 
 As to Mr. Hodge or Mr. Gill, Lord Byron 
 permitted either or both to proceed to Athens as 
 they pleased ; we had now got some intelligent 
 Greeks in the laboratory department, and it was 
 hoped they, with my instructions, would be suf- 
 ficient to carry on this part of the service. The 
 demand for paper Lord Byron also refused, as it 
 could not be granted without taking from us the 
 means of making cartridges, and breaking up the 
 laboratory department; and his Lordship thought 
 the defence of Greece not yet so far advanced, 
 that he should be justified in wholly confiding it 
 to the exertions of the press. 
 
 Through the whole month of March there was 
 very little occurred to Lord Byron of general 
 interest. His time was occupied as I have al- 
 ready described ; but heavy rains commencing 
 about the middle of the month, almost totally 
 precluded him from riding out. At the same 
 time he never neglected his evening exercises, 
 and became very expert in handling his sword 
 and single stick. The drilling of the corps and 
 preparations for defence were all carried on as I 
 have already described. Lord Byron's health 
 
ALARM OF PLAGUE. 87 
 
 appeared not thoroughly re-established, and he 
 frequently complained of slight pains in the 
 head, shivering fits, confusion of thoughts, and 
 visionary fears, all of which indicated to me in- 
 creasing debility. I consequently endeavoured 
 to persuade him to live a little better, to eat 
 more meat, and drink more wine. But as his 
 physician had instilled a notion into him that his 
 disorders all arose from too much blood, and 
 that his system required to be still further re- 
 duced, he was deaf to my advice , and probably 
 thought, by neither submitting to be again 
 blooded, nor indulging in the pleasures of the 
 table, that he was taking the safer, because the 
 middle, course. The event proved unfortunately 
 that his Lordship was wrong. 
 
 About the middle of the month an alarm was 
 spread, in consequence of a merchant coming 
 from Gastouni being taken suddenly ill and dying, 
 that the plague prevailed in that place. This 
 report excited apprehensions to an alarming de- 
 gree ; and people either shut themselves up in their 
 houses, or took special care not to touch one 
 another. Lord Byron made preparations for 
 leaving Missolonghi, as there did not seem, from 
 the low situation and filth of the place, the least 
 chance of subduing the disorder, should it make 
 its appearance there. Fortunately our alarm 
 was unfounded. No other person was attacked, 
 
OO LORD BYRON S HOPES WANT OF STORES. 
 
 and we learned, that the scarlet fever was the only 
 disorder prevalent at Gastouni. 
 
 Our labours in disciplining- the brigade went 
 on successfully, and there was every probability 
 of its being quite ready for actual and active ser- 
 vice at the beginning of May. The idea of hav- 
 ing so efficient a corps to bring into the field, 
 formed under his own eye, and chiefly at his ex- 
 pense, delighted Lord Byron beyond measure ; 
 and when the sort of enemies with whom the 
 Greeks had to contend is taken into consideration, 
 the hopes which he entertained, that the corps 
 would perform some brilliant and distinguished 
 service, gaining him reputation, both as a com- 
 mander and a statesman, seem to have been ra- 
 tional and well grounded. How fatally these 
 hopes were deceived, the reader knows in part ; 
 for Lord Byron never led his brigade to the field ; 
 and since his death, it has not been heard of, 
 neither under his distinguished name, nor under 
 any other more ignoble one. 
 
 We were so badly off for dry or seasoned wood 
 for our various purposes, it not being possible to 
 procure any at Missolonghi, that we pulled down 
 the old buildings round the seraglio or arsenal to 
 obtain it. This afforded us a small supply, and 
 shews to what straits we were reduced, and 
 how very improvident and destitute were all the 
 Greek authorities. 
 
OFFER A REWARD FOR COLLECTING SHOT. 89 
 
 I have before mentioned, that I had tried in 
 vain to persuade Prince Mavrocordato to order the 
 shot lying about to be collected ; another expe- 
 dient to accomplish this was now had recourse to : 
 I offered to pay from two to tourparas for every shot 
 or shell, large or small, which should be brought to 
 the arsenal; and in a short time we obtained, by 
 this means, about two thousand. Before this was 
 done there was, so to speak, a total want of these 
 necessary articles. The Greeks were not content 
 with our assistance, but when we pointed out 
 what they should do, they could not be got to 
 assist themselves unless we paid them for doing it. 
 
 The Turks had left, at the time of their last 
 attack on Missolonghi, some gun-carriages out- 
 side the walls. These also were transported to 
 the arsenal; such as were serviceable were re- 
 tained, and those which were not, were broken 
 up. The shafts we converted to wad-hook, and 
 sponge-staves, handspikes and other useful in- 
 struments, so that we applied our chance-sent 
 supplies to the best use. At the same time a 
 number of the men were employed in making 
 entrenching tools, fyc. A supply of bread and 
 biscuit was also in part procured, and in part 
 ordered, that no impediment might arise, on the 
 score of wanting provisions, to our taking the 
 field at the proper time. 
 
90 DIVISIONS AMONG THE GREEKS. 
 
 I mention all these details, because Lord 
 Byron interested himself in them all. It could 
 not be expected, that he should of himself know 
 what was proper on all these petty, though neither 
 unimportant, nor unnecessary parts of the service; 
 but he readily appreciated their utility, when 
 they were mentioned to him, and promoted them 
 by all the means in his power. He was quick in 
 apprehension even in these matters, so foreign 
 to his habits and pursuits, and zealous in having 
 them performed, when he perceived their proba- 
 ble usefulness. 
 
 Through the whole of March, we felt the in- 
 fluence of that division among the Greek chief- 
 tains which I have already hinted at, and which 
 I cannot but think our own divisions tended to 
 promote and perpetuate. Had all the English 
 adhered to Prince Mavrocordato and the govern- 
 ment with Lord Byron's steadiness, the Prince 
 would probably have acquired and maintained 
 that preponderance which, from his superior wis- 
 dom in the civil departments of administration, he 
 seems to have merited. Lord Byron was himself 
 a host in favour of the party he espoused ; and 
 though he had no wish, but the general good of 
 Greece, and contributed to the wants of all the 
 chieftains equally, as far as lay in his power, yet 
 as they were split into factions, and it was impos- 
 
ATTEMPTS TO GET POSSESSION OF LORD BVRON. 91 
 
 siblc he could reside with more than one, it 
 became with them all an object of no trifling im- 
 portance to obtain possession of him. 
 
 The first attempt that was made to get him 
 from Missolonghi, was a letter which he received 
 about the 10th of March, inviting him into the 
 Peloponessus, and offering, as a flattering motive 
 for him to come, the possibility that by doing so, 
 he might effect a permanent union among all the 
 chieftains. The person who first wrote to him 
 on this subject, was I believe of no importance 
 himself, and was unauthorized by any very con- 
 spicuous men, and therefore Lord Byron had no 
 hesitation in immediately sending a polite refusal. 
 In reply to the flattering expectations held out 
 to him, of being able by his presence to heal all 
 the divisions of Greece, he expressed of course 
 his ardent wish to contribute all in his power to 
 so desirable an object, but he declined quitting 
 western Greece for the Peloponessus, unless it 
 should be particularly desired by the general go- 
 vernment. 
 
 The next attempt was made by Colocotroni, 
 whose envoy, Lambro, made several sly insidious 
 attacks on the good faith which Lord Byron re- 
 posed in the Greeks about him. His own patron 
 he represented as entirely devoted to Lord Byron, 
 and ready to submit to his judgment in all things. 
 When the character of Colocotroni is considered, 
 
92 INTRIGUES OF NATIVES AND FOREIGNERS. 
 
 and the great influence lie then possessed, this 
 was a much more flattering invitation even than 
 the former. It was coupled too with the expres- 
 sion of a wish that a national council might be 
 assembled, by the judgment of which Coloco- 
 troni promised to abide. The presidency of such 
 a council was not expressly offered to his lordship, 
 but his presence as a mediator was earnestly and 
 warmly pressed.' 
 
 On such points Lord Byron consulted Prince 
 Mavrocordato, and the prince knowing the 
 character of his countrymen, unfolded some of 
 their views to his Lordship. It was not the inter- 
 est of Mavrocordato to separate from Lord Byron, 
 and his lordship declined either attending such 
 a general assembly in person, or deputing any 
 commissioner to attend for him. All parties pro- 
 fessed to place the utmost confidence in him, and 
 him alone ; and there was not one chieftain, I be- 
 lieve, with whom he communicated, who did not 
 endeavour to infuse suspicions into his mind of 
 the sincerity of every other. 
 
 Unfortunately, too, there were some English- 
 men in Greece who seemed to be as strong parti- 
 zans as any of the followers of the chiefs. Some 
 of these at Mjssolonghi took great pains, about 
 the middle of March, to instil suspicions into 
 Lord Byron's mind of Prince Mavrocordato ; and 
 did every thing which lay in their power to 
 
HOPES OP UNTON AMONG THE CHIEFS. 03 
 
 destroy the harmony which existed between the 
 prince, Lord Byron, and the general government. 
 On the other hand Mavrocordato distinctly stated 
 to him that the general government had dis- 
 covered a plan which had been formed by some 
 of the chiefs, aided by some of the English and 
 other foreigners, to remove all the stores from Mis- 
 solonghi, to break up his Lordship's brigade, and 
 to thus put an end to the influence of Mavrocor- 
 dato. Of this party Ulysses was the idol, and was 
 to be the sole chief. 
 
 Lord Byron, notwithstanding this sort of expe- 
 rience, was at times sanguine in his hopes of ef- 
 fecting a union amongst all the chiefs. This de- 
 lusion, for I cannot but consider it such, arose 
 from the purity of his own views, and his sincere 
 wishes for the success of the Greeks. He saw 
 clearly and forcibly, that to attain this object, 
 union amongst them was necessary, and he sup- 
 posed, placing some reliance on the professions of 
 the chieftains, that they would entertain the 
 same conviction, and would be disposed to sacri- 
 fice their individual hatred and individual am- 
 bition to the general good. He did not reflect 
 that men hate a rival, who succeeds to the autho- 
 rity of an oppressive master, more than they ever 
 hated the oppressor, and that most of the Greek 
 chiefs would prefer their ancient masters, to 
 submission to a rival chief. 
 
94 
 
 CONGRESS AT SALONA. 
 
 About the 20th of March news reached us, 
 that a large Turkish force was expected to march 
 into Greece, by way of Larissa. At the same 
 time we heard, that a congress or general meet- 
 ing was to take place at Salona, to concert the 
 best means of defence. To this congress Lord 
 Byron was formally invited by General Ulys- 
 ses. He was at the same time informed that the 
 government would appoint him governor-general 
 of Western Greece, if he would accept the office. 
 This shews how highly they valued the continu- 
 ance of his services, and how eager they all were 
 to get him immediately, each into his own neigh- 
 bourhood. It was agreed, I believe, that Mavro- 
 cordato and Lord Byron should proceed to Salona; 
 but before they could carry this resolution into 
 practice, disturbances ensued at Missolonghi, 
 the Turkish fleet made its appearance, and it 
 would have looked like running from danger, to 
 have gone then to Salona. I believe, however, 
 neither his Lordship, nor the Prince, was very 
 sorry to have so good an excuse for remaining 
 where they were. Mavrocordato entertained ap- 
 prehensions for his own safety, and Byron had 
 been told that a plot was laid to seize and confine 
 him, and murder the Prince. Perhaps he did not 
 believe all this, but I know he believed enough 
 to make him suspicious and apprehensive. 
 
 In the very latter end of March the magistrates 
 
LORD BYRON A CITIZEN OF MISSOLONGHI. 95 
 
 of Missolonghi conferred on Lord Byron what 
 we should call the freedom of their town. Had his 
 Lordship belonged to some craft or mystery, as 
 trades are sometimes called, which can only be 
 practised in certain places by the permission of 
 the guild brethren, this might have been of 
 some value to him. But being of no money- 
 making trade, this honour seems to have been 
 conferred on him only that he might spend more ; 
 at least it had this effect, and like admission to 
 many a corporation in England, was by no means 
 worth what it cost in fees. 
 
 Applications were made to Lord Byron about 
 the end of March, for money to the amount of 
 50,000 dollars in one day ; and what with the trou- 
 ble of granting and the pain of refusing, his 
 Lordship found this penalty belonging to his 
 exalted situation so unpleasant, that he was glad 
 to get another to pay it for him. He transferred 
 the management of this part of his financial ar- 
 rangements also to me. The Greeks seemed to 
 think he was a mine from which they could ex- 
 tract gold at their pleasure. One person repre- 
 sented that a supply of 20,000 dollars would save 
 the island of Candia from falling into the hands 
 of the Pacha of Egypt ; and there not being that 
 sum in hand, Lord Byron gave him authority to 
 raise it if lie could in the islands, and he would 
 
96 TURKISH FLEET — DESERTION FROM COLOCOTRONI. 
 
 guarantee its repayment. I believe this person 
 did not succeed. 
 
 The Turkish fleet made its appearance offMis- 
 solonghi in the beginning of April, which made 
 us bestir ourselves more than ever in repairing 
 the fortifications. Lord Byron and Prince Mav- 
 rocordato took me with them to visit the forti- 
 fications of Vasiladi ; and we settled what further 
 repairs should be immediately begun. 
 
 In the beginning of April a number of Coloco- 
 troni's men deserted, for want of pay, they said, 
 and came into Missolonghi, and some of them 
 were taken into the brigade. I, who am old in the 
 service, and accustomed to the discipline of the 
 army, could not comprehend very well this state 
 of things, under which the soldiers who deserted 
 from one general were gladly welcomed by ano- 
 ther, as if they were enemies, and not serving 
 under one banner, and engaged in one cause. 
 But Colocotroni and Mavrocordato were not the 
 generals of one republic, nor the servants of one 
 state ; they were rival chieftains contending for 
 power and superiority. 
 
 On April 10, Lord Byron communicated to me the 
 news, that the loan for the Greeks had been con- 
 tracted for in London ; and that the money might 
 soon be expected. In the evening Prince Mavrocor- 
 dato and his Lordship had some conversation, as 
 
NEWS OF THE LOAN FUTURE PROJECTS. 97 
 
 to the plan of operations for the ensuing- cam- 
 paign. The Prince accordingly drew up a sketch 
 of what he supposed should be immediately per- 
 formed, and Lord Byron ordered me to put on 
 paper in a definite form the assistance he offered 
 to the Greeks. This was accordingly done ; and 
 the plan sketched out by Prince Mavrocordato 
 and Lord Byron's offer will both be found in the 
 Appendix D.E. 
 
 As soon as this was settled, Lord Byron 
 being more master of his own resources, the 
 Greek government now having money of its own, 
 began assiduously to employ them in repairing the 
 fortifications of the town, and completing in the 
 most effective manner his own brigade. In fact 
 these were among the first and the last of his 
 labours for Greece. Soon after the arrival of 
 the news that the loan had been taken, and just 
 as he was priding himself on being liberated 
 from the thousand demands that were daily made 
 on his purse and his time, he was seized with 
 that illness from which he never recovered. The 
 last of his exertions and the last of his orders for 
 the good of Greece, were directed to forming an 
 effective body of soldiers, who he knew would, 
 if well disciplined, be the most useful present he 
 could make to his favourite cause. 
 
 The circumstances I have mentioned in this 
 chapter may have thrown some additional light 
 
 H 
 
 
98 INCREASING EMBARRASSMENT FOR LORD BYRON. 
 
 on the situation of Lord Byron ; and may per- 
 haps explain some parts of his conduct which 
 have hitherto been only known through the me- 
 dium of partial, and in my opinion unfair, reports. 
 Lord Byron was on one hand courted and flat- 
 tered publicly by every man in authority in 
 Greece ; on the other, there was not one of the 
 chiefs who did not endeavour to infuse suspicions 
 into his mind of the integrity of all the others. He 
 also appeared in the character of representative 
 of the Greek committee, and of the English peo- 
 ple ; but in this character he had rivals, who 
 were jealous of his ascendency. While he had 
 probably lost some share of the confidence of 
 those who were the managing persons in the 
 Greek committee, and they were disposed to 
 place more reliance on others than on him ; yet 
 up to the date of his death, as those others had 
 no personal resources equal to the occasion, he 
 stood pre-eminent in the esteem of most of the 
 Greek chiefs. There was nothing but embar- 
 rassment for Lord Byron, nothing but trouble 
 and confusion from these different persons, all of 
 them possessing power, endeavouring each to 
 influence his mind in the direction most suited 
 to his own views. 
 
 As another specimen of the manner in which 
 he was called on to interfere between these op- 
 posing interests, I may mention that again, to- 
 
HUNGARIANS EXORTED TO REBEL. 99 
 
 wards the latter end of March, Prince Mavrocor- 
 dato pointedly and positively requested Lord 
 Byron to stop the circulation of a newspaper 
 which had been struck off during his absence, 
 and which contained an exhortation to the Hun- 
 garians to rebel against the House of Austria. 
 Lord Byron was highly incensed that such a 
 paper should have issued from Missolonghi, and 
 he promised to do all in his power to prevent its 
 circulation in the islands. He knew it had been 
 said that the Greek insurrection was the offspring 
 of the revolutionary principles to which the so- 
 vereigns of Europe were so resolutely opposed. 
 He knew that wherever they suspected the ex- 
 istence of these principles, no appeal to honour, 
 to justice, or even to religion, was of any avail, 
 and that they directed all their energies to stifle 
 in every part of the world every germ of popu- 
 lar independence. He therefore saw in this de- 
 nunciation, and in most of the political doctrines 
 which were broached in Greece, an invitation to 
 these powers, more particularly to Austria, to 
 take part against the Greeks. It was moreover 
 a justification of their doing so. Lord Byron 
 saw this was hazarding the success of that cause 
 which wholly engrossed his mind, and he was 
 proportionably energetic in his reprobation of 
 what appeared to him both inexpedient in prac- 
 tice, and indefensible in principle. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 LORD BYRON NOT INCONSISTENT. 
 
 After this sketch of Byron's situation in Greece, 
 the reader may form some idea of the difficulties 
 which surrounded him. I have endeavoured to 
 bring them distinctly under notice ; because im- 
 putations of vacillating policy, of conduct guided 
 by caprice, of unfitness for the task he had un- 
 dertaken, of a childish love of change, have all 
 been made against him ; and he who laid down 
 his life in proof of the integrity of his principles, 
 and of the intenseness of his love of liberty, has 
 not escaped the censures of men, who have been 
 only a little more consistent than he was, — and 
 that merely in opinion, because their opinions 
 were all theory, and never were made the rule 
 either of their own conduct or of the conduct of 
 others. If these difficulties do not afford an 
 ample justification for many trifling circumstances 
 in Lord Byron's proceedings, we may at least 
 infer from them that none of his calumniators 
 would have been in his situation more consis- 
 tent or more successful. 
 
101 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 SECOND ILLNESS AND DEATH OF LORD BYRON. 
 
 Weather in April — Attack on Missolonghi, by Cariascachi — Miscon- 
 duct of our soldiers — Duels — A spy in Lord Byron's household — 
 Endeavours to estrange Lord Byron from Mavrocordato — Con- 
 duct of some Englishmen — Rumour of breaking up the esta- 
 blishment at Missolonghi — Irritation of Lord Byron — Is pre- 
 vented leaving Missolonghi — News of the loan — Lord Byron rides 
 out for the last time — My opportunities of being with Lord Byron — 
 Opportunities enjoyed by others — Count Gamba — Fletcher — Dr. 
 Bruno — Deplorable state and confusion of Lord Byron's household — 
 Proofs of the authenticity of the narrative — Lord Byron seriously 
 ill — Agrees to leave Missolonghi — Preparations for this purpose — 
 Prevented by the Sirocco wind — Confined to his bed — Is delirious — 
 The doctors think there is no danger — Sirocco continues — His for- 
 lorn condition — Is bled — Continued delirium — A consultation of 
 physicians — Previous treatment of Lord Byron condemned — Bark 
 administered to him — Is sensible for the last time — Lies in a stupor 
 for twenty-four hours — His Death — Author's opinion as to the causes 
 of his Death — Lord Byron's prodigious disappointment — Flattering 
 manner in which he was invited to Greece — What he expected to 
 perform — Remarks on the physician's statements — Other disasters in 
 Greece — Its independence not promoted by our interference. 
 
 During the early part of April, the weather con- 
 tinued rainy and most unpleasant. The disputes 
 among the Greek chieftains and their followers, 
 the effects of which we always felt, seemed to 
 increase daily, and at length to have broken ou 
 into open hostility and civil war. 
 
102 CARIASCACHl'S ATTACK ON MISSOLONGHI. 
 
 I am not writing a history of Greece, and 
 therefore the reader will dispense with my enu- 
 merating the names of all the captains who are 
 at the head of different parties in that coun- 
 try, some openly fighting for themselves, and 
 others clothed with the authority of government. 
 Their names, their behaviour, their excesses, and 
 their modest pretensions, have all been a thousand 
 times repeated in the newspapers, and other pub- 
 lications, and can receive no fame from my pen. 
 My only object is to confine myself to such facts 
 as throw light on Lord Byron's situation, and the 
 causes of his death. 
 
 Towards the end of March or beginning of 
 April, he was much annoyed, and indeed every 
 body was alarmed, by an attack made on Mis- 
 solonghi by the partizans of one Cariascachi of 
 Anatolica, under the pretence of avenging a 
 private insult offered to one of their own people, 
 but in fact undertaken in concert with that party 
 which wanted to destroy the influence and power 
 of Mavrocordato, and separate him from Lord 
 Byron. The primates and others flew to his Lord- 
 ship for protection, entreated him to order out 
 his brigade, and told him they had no hope, even 
 for the safety of the town but in him. About the 
 same time, the troops of Cariascachi took pos- 
 session of Vasaldi, and seemed resolved to be 
 their own masters, whatever ruin they might bring 
 
MISCONDUCT OF OUR SOLDIERS. 103 
 
 on their country. Driven by the desperate 
 state of its finances, or rather by its want of re- 
 sources, the government also had recourse to 
 violence, and was almost involved in disputes 
 with England, by seizing on some property be- 
 longing to Ionian merchants at Missolonghi. The 
 very moment the Turks were threatening to 
 make another attack, and were, it may be almost 
 said, before the walls of Missolonghi, was the 
 time chosen by those who wanted money, and 
 those who wanted power, to embroil all the par- 
 ties in this unhappy country. 
 
 On our part, we were not without unfortu- 
 nate occurrences. One of our soldiers committed 
 an outrage on the Greek family where he lodged; 
 and to restore the confidence of the Greeks in 
 our discipline, we were obliged to arrest him, 
 and carry him off to the seraglio. Where there 
 was so little subordination, every event of this 
 kind not only gave a great deal of trouble, but 
 led to confusion and tumult ; another of our sol- 
 diers committed a robbery, was detected and pu- 
 nished. This event, which in a well regulated 
 corps would have passed as a matter of course, 
 begot a dispute among some of the officers, and 
 some of the English gentlemen present, and two 
 or three duels would have ensued, had the parties 
 not been put under arrest by my orders. Count 
 Gamba takes the merit of this arrest to himself, 
 
IOJh efforts of mavrocordato's enemies. 
 
 but he had nothing to do with it, and never had 
 any power in Greece. There was no military code 
 established and promulgated but the code Napo- 
 ^oleon, which people were not disposed to obey ; 
 and every little occurrence of this kind called 
 forth legislative debates, as well as judicial dis- 
 putes. The laws were to be made and applied 
 as the offences arose. It was also discovered, that 
 a relation of the landlord, in whose house Lord 
 Byron lived, acted as a spy for the opposite party. 
 He was of course arrested, and given up to the 
 authorities at Missolonghi. 
 
 What above all things, however, annoyed 
 Lord Byron, were the various efforts made 
 to prejudice him against Prince Mavrocordato ; 
 and the Prince disclosing to him the objects of 
 these attempts. In all the intrigues which I 
 witnessed in Greece, and till they fell under my 
 notice I had no conception that one could think 
 of such crooked contrivances — nothing surprised 
 me more, than the willingness of some English- 
 men to lend themselves to these deceitful and 
 base purposes. Either much displeased at not 
 iinding themselves the all-engrossing objects of 
 admiration, or careless of every thing but their 
 own selfish purposes, or willing to obtain that 
 importance, by trick and chicanery, which their 
 own merits in a country like Greece never could 
 obtain, they made it their express business to sow 
 
COLONEL STANHOPE'S IMPROPER INTERFERENCE. 105 
 
 division between Lord Byron and Prince Mavro- 
 cordato. Tims, shortly after Lord Byron's first 
 illness, one of them told him, that the Suliotes at 
 Anatolica had disclosed the circumstance that 
 they were persuaded by Prince Mavrocordato 
 not to march against Lepanto. With that frank- 
 ness which ever distinguished Lord Byron, he 
 communicated this report to the Prince, who 
 satisfied him, that it originated entirely in the 
 malice of his enemies. In the then weak state 
 of Lord Byron's health, this report irritated 
 him exceedingly, and it required all my efforts, 
 and those of the persons who had most influence 
 over him, to restore him to calmness. 
 
 The irritation of this had scarcely subsided, 
 when we discovered that intrigues were on foot, 
 to persuade the Greeks, whom I had instructed a 
 little in the art of preparing ammunition, to go off 
 to Athens. Prince Mavrocordato and Colonel 
 Stanhope were not on very good terms ; the 
 Colonel had no confidence in the Prince, and 
 indeed openly bearded and opposed him. It 
 seemed as if the Colonel supposed Greece was 
 a regiment of guards, which might be put through 
 certain manoeuvres at his pleasure. He wanted to 
 drill it after his own fashion. His hostility to 
 Mavrocordato had been so marked, that there 
 gradually arose an opinion, among both Greeks 
 and English, strengthened by the Colonel's own 
 
106 LORD BYRON NEGLECTED BY THE COMMITTEE. 
 
 conduct, that he was endeavouring to break up 
 the establishment at Missolonghi, and remove all 
 the stores belonging to the committee to Athens. 
 This report, like the others, was conveyed to Lord 
 Byron, and he not having parted with Colonel 
 Stanhope on very good terms, it added much to 
 the disagreebleness of his feelings. He had be- 
 fore attributed both neglect and deceit to the 
 Greek committee or some of its agents ; and this 
 report of the proceedings of their special and 
 chosen messenger, made him, in the irritation of 
 the moment, regard them as acting even treache- 
 rously towards him. To the cause of Greece he 
 was firmly attached, and resolved never to for- 
 sake it ; and he was proportionably both disap- 
 pointed and angry, that those who pretended to 
 feel a similar attachment, had it only on their 
 lips, and not in their hearts. " By the cant of 
 religious pretenders," he said, " I have already 
 deeply suffered, and now I know what the cant 
 of pretended reformers and of philanthropists 
 amounts to." Had his valuable life been spared, 
 the specious claims of both these sects would 
 have been justly held up to the derision of man- 
 kind. 
 
 At this moment then, that is, at the commence- 
 ment of April, there was a combination of cir- 
 cumstances, all tending to irritate the naturally 
 sensitive disposition of Lord Byron, and to 
 
HIS DEFERENCE TO OPINION. 107 
 
 weaken his hopes of a great and glorious result. He 
 was more a mental being, if I may use this phrase, 
 than any man I ever saw. He lived on thought 
 more than on food. As his hopes of the cause of 
 Greece failed, and they seem to have been the 
 last, and perhaps the greatest his mind was capa- 
 ble of forming, he became peevish ; and if I may 
 so speak, little minded. Losing hope, he lost 
 enthusiasm, and became gloomily sensible to his 
 situation. There was no mental stimulus left to 
 make him bear up against his increasing perplexi- 
 ties, and nerve his body to resist the noxious ef- 
 fects of a bad climate. 
 
 The difficulties of his own situation, and the 
 coming dangers, had the effect on the obstinate 
 mind of Lord Byron, of compelling him to re- 
 main at Missolonghi. But for these circumstances, 
 he would have left it for a time, and have found 
 repose and health. 
 
 He who has been thought by many to have 
 contemptuously braved the opinion of the world, 
 was, when it was in harmony with his own convic- 
 tions, completely and sensitively under its con- 
 trol. He felt that the Greeks were more than 
 ever in danger, and his high and proud mind ob- 
 stinately refused to leave Missolonghi, for a more 
 quiet scene, and a more healthy abode. He 
 dreaded what the world might say of his desertion ; 
 
108 HIS CONTINUED DEBILITY. 
 
 his spirit was more powerful than his frame, and 
 this fell into dissolution before that changed its 
 determination. Had it not been for the state of 
 Greece, I believe he would, at the commencement 
 of his disorder, have gone to Zante, but he could 
 not brook the idea of flinching from danger, even 
 to save his life. 
 
 From the beginning of April, he had fre- 
 quently complained to me of violent headaches, 
 and of great debility. Both these had remained 
 from the time of the first attack; but he had felt 
 them particularly, from the time of the bleeding. 
 When these head-aches left him, his hopes re- 
 turned that his health would be restored in the 
 summer. To me he often expressed the great sa- 
 tisfaction he felt, at the probability of being able, 
 by means of his income alone, to carry his de- 
 signs in favour of Greece into execution, without 
 adding to his debts, or alienating any part of his 
 property. He looked forward to the return of fine 
 weather, and the commencement of the campaign, 
 when he proposed to take the field, at the head 
 of his own brigade, and the troops which the go- 
 vernment of Greece were to place under his 
 orders, for the recovery of his health and spirits. 
 He was sure he said, to be thoroughly restored, 
 could he every day get hard exercise in the free 
 air. He wanted to be relieved from his own de- 
 
 
RIDES OUT FOR THE LAST TIME. 109 
 
 spondency ; but time and circumstances brought 
 no relief, and before the campaign was opened 
 he had perished. 
 
 When the news arrived from England, on 
 April the 9th, of the loan for the Greeks having 
 been negotiated in London, Lord Byron also re- 
 ceived several private letters, which brought him 
 favourable accounts of his daughter. Whenever 
 he spoke of her, it was with delight to think he 
 was a father, or with a strong feeling of melan- 
 choly, at recollecting that her infantine and most 
 endearing embraces were denied to his love. 
 The pleasant intelligence which he had received 
 concerning her, gave a fresh stimulus to his mind, 
 I may almost say revived for a moment a spirit 
 that was already faint and weary, and slumbering 
 in the arms of death. He rode out after hearing 
 this news twice; and once was caught in the rain. 
 Those who wish to attribute his death to any 
 other cause, rather than to the general debility 
 occasioned by a long system of exhaustion, both 
 of body and mind, have eagerly seized hold of 
 this trifling circumstance, to make the world be- 
 lieve, that he who had swam the Hellespont, who 
 had been accustomed to brave every climate, and 
 every season, fell a victim to a shower of rai n 
 and a wet saddle. When a man is borne clown, 
 almost to death, by continued vexation, and a 
 want of sufficient nourishment, such trifles may 
 
110 MY OPPORTUNITIES OF SEEING LORD BYRON. 
 
 complete his dissolution. In this case they were 
 only the last grains of the ponderous load of ca- 
 lamities which weighed this noble-minded man 
 to the earth ; and it is my honest conviction, that 
 he might have been saved, had he had with him 
 one sensible and influential friend, partly to shield 
 him from himself, partly to shield him from others, 
 and zealous to preserve both his fame and his 
 life. 
 
 Before I proceed to describe Lord Byron's 
 death, it may be as well to state what opportu- 
 nities were enjoyed by those persons who have 
 either supplied the materials for an account of his 
 last moments, or published it on their own au- 
 thority, for the task they have undertaken. It 
 will be evident, I should suppose, to every per- 
 son who has honoured these pages with a perusal, 
 that I was necessarily much absent from Lord By- 
 ron, after he was taken ill. My duties carried me out 
 of the house where we lived, and it was only 
 occasionally that I could pay him any attention, 
 or even ascertain his actual state. Whenever I 
 returned home, before I entered his room, of 
 course I made inquiries as to his state, and I was 
 generally told that he was asleep, or quiet, and 
 had better not be disturbed, that there was no 
 danger, and that I might without apprehension 
 attend to my business. Lord Byron, it will 
 be also evident I think to the reader, honoured 
 
 
COUNT GAMBA. Ill 
 
 me with a high degree of confidence ; and yet 
 some of those who were immediately in charge of 
 his person did what they could to exclude me 
 from his presence. They have themselves, there- 
 fore, to thank for the suspicions which have been 
 generated in my mind as to the accuracy of the 
 reports. 
 
 As I do not pretend to have been continually 
 at Lord Byron's bed-side, it would be wrong in 
 me to deny the accuracy of any statement, which 
 may possibly relate to times when I was not 
 present; at the same time it seems to me proper 
 to put the public in possession of some facts, 
 which may enable them to judge of the credibility 
 of the narratives of Lord Byron's last moments 
 which have been given to the world. 
 
 Count Gamba, who has just published " A 
 Narrative," fyc, and who has given a circum- 
 stantial detail of every thing that happened to 
 Lord Byron, did not live under the same roof 
 with him. He resided in another part of the 
 town, and for two or three days, at the most 
 critical period of Lord Byron's illness, he was 
 confined to his own room from the effects of an 
 accident. I believe he was unable to walk. 
 Count Gamba is still a very young man ; I say this 
 with no intention to disparage him, in truth it is 
 with most men a subject of pride, and in him Lord 
 Byron never placed any marked degree of conn*- 
 
112 FLETCHER DR. BRUNO. 
 
 denco. His Lordship protected and employed 
 him ; he may be said even to have provided for 
 him, but he did not confide in him. 
 
 Fletcher, Lord Byron's valet, I have before 
 observed was not at this time his favourite ser- 
 vant. He was comparatively seldom in his mas- 
 ter's bed-room, and seemed to me to have nearly 
 lost his master's confidence. Tita was Lord 
 Byron's constant attendant, and was always in 
 his bed-room. There were several circumstances 
 also connected with Mr. Fletcher, which must 
 have unfitted him to be a very correct reporter of 
 what occurred ; I shall mention only one, the 
 influence of which indeed Count Gamba also felt. 
 Both were so affected, and so unmanned 
 by the situation of Lord Byron, that whenever 
 I saw them they required almost as much atten- 
 tion and assistance as Lord Byron himself. It is 
 possible that what they saw they may have faith- 
 fully related ; but I cannot say that I feel dis- 
 posed to borrow any thing from the narrative of 
 either. 
 
 Dr. Bruno I believe to be a very good young 
 man, buthe was certainly inadequate to his si- 
 tuation. I do not mean as to his scientific ac- 
 quirements, for of them I pretend not to judge ; 
 but he wanted firmness, and was so much agi- 
 tated, that he was incapable of bringing whatever 
 knowledge he might possess into use. Tita was 
 
CONFUSION AMONG THE ATTENDANTS. 113 
 
 kind and attentive, and by far the most teachable 
 and useful of all the persons about Lord Byron. 
 As there was nobody invested with any au- 
 thority over his household, after he fell sick, 
 there was neither method, order, nor quiet, in his 
 apartments. A clever skilful English surgeon, pos- 
 sessing the confidence of his employer, would have 
 put all this in train; but Dr. Bruno had no idea 
 of doing any such thing. There was also a want 
 of many comforts which, to the sick, may in- 
 deed be called necessaries, and there was a 
 dreadful confusion of tongues. In his agitation 
 Dr. Bruno's English, and he spoke but imper- 
 fectly, was unintelligible ; Fletcher's Italian was 
 equally bad. I speak nothing but English ; Tita 
 then spoke nothing but Italian; and the ordinary 
 Greek domestics were incomprehensible to us 
 all. In all the attendants there was the ofncious- 
 ness of zeal ; but owing to their ignorance of 
 each other's language, their zeal only added to the 
 confusion. This circumstance, and the want of 
 common necessaries, made Lord Byron's apart- 
 ment such a picture of distress and even anguish 
 during the two or three last days of his life, as I 
 never before beheld, and wish never again to 
 witness. 
 
 Having mentioned circumstances which may 
 probably suggest a doubt to the reader's mind as 
 to the fidelity of those narratives which have 
 
11.4 PROOFS OF CONFIDENCE IN ME. 
 
 been published of Lord Byron's last moments, I 
 may allude to those which should inspire him with 
 confidence in my assertions. Prom Count Gamba's 
 statement, which I have transferred to the title- 
 page of this work, the reader may be satisfied that 
 I was present with Lord Byron a short time before 
 he became insensible for ever, and that Count 
 Gamba himself was not present, for he says, " I 
 had not the heart to go*." Count Gamba was in 
 fact overcome by his feelings, and was incapable 
 of going. The reader may therefore judge from 
 this of the accuracy of conversations which I, 
 who was present, do not pretend to have heard. 
 " It was to Parry," Count Gamba says, " to whom 
 " Lord Byron tried to express his last wishes." 
 It is plain, therefore, from the statements of other 
 persons, that Lord Byron had confidence in me, 
 and knowing that he had in a high degree, I 
 infer, and the reader will grant, I believe, the 
 fairness of the inference, that Lord Byron would 
 not be anxious to confide secrets to others when 
 I was on the spot. In fact I believe that for the 
 last seven days of his life Lord Byron did not 
 speak on any serious topic connected with his 
 own concerns to any other person but to me. An 
 additional proof of Lord Byron's confidence in 
 me may be extracted from another passage of 
 
 * Narrative, $c. page 264. 
 
WANT OF CONFIDENCE IN THE PHYSICIANS. 115 
 
 Count Gamba's narrative. He says at p. 264, 
 *.' I was sent for to persuade him (Lord Byron), 
 to allow of blisters being put on, and returned 
 in all haste with Mr. Parry." Why did Count 
 Gamba return with me when he was sent for! 
 Because in fact it was I who was summoned to 
 persuade his Lordship, and who always was sum- 
 moned ; and these were the only times that the 
 doctors liked my presence, whenever Lord Byron 
 was to be convinced or persuaded that the re- 
 medies proposed were likely to be beneficial. 
 
 Whenever Lord Byron objected or refused to 
 follow their prescriptions, then I was sent for to 
 exert my influence over him ; at other times, as 
 I have stated, all sorts of excuses were invented 
 to exclude me from his room. Whenever I saw 
 him, also, and this is well worthy of attention, 
 he never omitted to complain of the altercations 
 he had with his doctors, of whose treatment of 
 him he said many harsh things. 
 
 I have now stated candidly the means and op- 
 portunities I had of witnessing Lord Byron's last 
 moments, and the means and opportunities which 
 others had. What I saw, and what I know T , I 
 shall now describe. 
 
 A short time after his return from the ride, on 
 April 9th, when he had got wet, he complained 
 of considerable pain and fever, and his physi- 
 cian, evidently from some Sangrado theory, im- 
 
 i 2 
 
110 CONSENTS TO REMOVE TO ZANTE. 
 
 mediately proposed that he should be again 
 bled. To this he objected, and against this, 
 when I heard of it, I remonstrated. I was con- 
 fident from the mode in which he had lately 
 lived, and been lately tormented, that to bleed 
 him would be to kill him. He was worn out, 
 not fairly but unfairly, and the momentary heat 
 and symptoms of fever were little more, I believe, 
 than the expiring struggles or the last flashes of 
 an ardent spirit. 
 
 On April 11th he was very unwell*, had 
 shivering fits continually, and pains over every 
 part of his body, particularly in his bones and 
 head. He talked a great deal, and I thought in 
 rather a wandering manner, and I became 
 alarmed for his safety. To me there appeared 
 no time to be lost, and I earnestly supplicated 
 him to go immediately to Zante, and try change 
 of air and change of scene. After some time he 
 gave an unwilling consent, and I received his 
 orders to prepare vessels for his conveyance f. 
 Count Gamba, Lieut. Hesketh, his aid-de-camp, 
 
 * Count Gamba says he rode out on this day. Mr. Fletcher's 
 account, published in the " Westminster Review," says the last 
 time he rode out was on the 10th. The latter is correct. 
 
 t This is a circumstance which could not have been unknown 
 to Count Gamba ; and yet, I believe, it is never mentioned in 
 his Narrative. Mr. Fletcher might easily have forgotten this, or 
 uot have known it, as well as many other things. 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR THE REMOVAL. 117 
 
 M. Bruno, his physician, and his servants Fletcher 
 and Tita were to accompany him. Of course I 
 was to remain at Missolonghi, and was more 
 especially to take charge of all his property, and 
 expedite the service as much as lay in my 
 power. I was also to have a vessel constantly 
 ready to send over to Zante, with information of 
 whatever occurred at Missolonghi. It was only 
 by pointing out to his Lordship the facility of 
 communicating with him, and the ease and 
 spcediness with which he might return to the 
 spot, should his presence be necessary, and his 
 health permit, that I wrung from him a reluctant 
 consent to go away, and a reluctant order to 
 prepare for his departure. 
 
 It is perhaps of little consequence to the 
 reader to be told at this time of what I did ; but 
 there is one circumstance connected with Lord 
 Byron that I may mention, as it took place this 
 day. For his satisfaction, as well as for mine, I 
 had drawn up a report of my proceedings, as well 
 as of all his military proceedings since my arrival 
 in Greece. On April 1 1th, I read this report to him, 
 and it received his approbation. A more rigid judge, 
 probably, from supposing himself a more inflexible 
 patriot, and a more enlightened man, or because 
 he was better acquainted with the matter, I mean 
 colonel Stanhope, did not condescend to honour 
 this report, at a later period, with his approbation. 
 
118 THE SIROCCO WIND. 
 
 But he had a better right than Lord Byron to 
 condemn it, for he neither smoothed our diffi- 
 culties nor upheld our courage. He had no hand 
 in effecting the little good which pleased the 
 noble mind of Lord Byron. 
 
 Lord Byron kept his bed all day on the 12th 
 of April, and complained that he could not sleep, 
 that his bones were very sore, and that the pain 
 in his head increased. He could eat nothing, 
 and in fact took no nourishment whatever. 
 
 On the following day all the preparations for 
 his departure were completed, but a hurricane 
 ensued, and it was impossible for the vessel to 
 leave the port ; torrents of rain also came down, 
 the country around was flooded, and Misso- 
 longhi for the time became a complete prison. 
 The hurricane was no other than the pestilent 
 sirocco wind; and thus it seems as if the elements 
 had combined with man to ensure Lord Byron's 
 death. 
 
 Hitherto he had risen during the day, and for 
 a short time had left his bed-room ; but after 
 retiring on April the 14th, he came out no more. 
 From that time he was confined to his bed, 
 and nobody was allowed to see him, or permitted 
 to enter his bed-room, but Count Gamba, the 
 physician, the two servants Tita and Fletcher, 
 and myself. The confidence with which he had 
 ever honoured me since my arrival, was shewn 
 
FIRST SYMPTOMS OF DELIRIUM. 119 
 
 even in his last moments ; and, still keeping in 
 view why he and I were both in Greece, he told 
 me to be with him as much as I possibly could, 
 without thereby retarding the service. 
 
 My other occupations unfortunately did not 
 allow me to be always about him ; but whenever 
 they did, I paid him all the attention in my power. 
 To me he seemed even from April 14th to be 
 occasionally delirious *, and frequently expres- 
 sed a desire and intention to go on horseback, or 
 to take an excursion in his boat. I observed also 
 that he sometimes slipped in an Italian sentence 
 or phrase or two in his conversations with me, 
 as if he Avcre addressing Tita or Count Gamba. 
 From fulfilling his intention of riding he was 
 dissuaded, partly by his attendants, but chiefly 
 
 * In the account given in the " Westminster Review" of 
 Lord Byron's death, at page 255, Vol. II., there is a note re- 
 cording some conversation between Lord Byron and his phy- 
 sician, from which the reviewer infers that Byron was delirious 
 in an early stage of the disease. This strengthens what I have 
 said in the text ; I shall only deny that the delirium arose 
 from inflammation. It was that alienation of the mind, which, 
 is so frequently the consequence of excessive debility. There 
 was no symptom of violence in the early period of the dis- 
 ease, such as I have frequently seen in other young men at- 
 tacked with fever, and such as I believe would, in Lord By- 
 ron's case had, the disorder been inflammatory, have been most 
 severe. The delirium at every stage arose from extreme de- 
 bility. 
 
120 THE SIROCCO CONTINUES. 
 
 by his weakness, which prevented him even from 
 supporting himself without assistance. 
 
 On the 15th of April Lord Byron was se- 
 riously and alarmingly ill ; and I am now per- 
 suaded, from the manner of his conversation with 
 me, more than from what he said, that he was 
 then apprehensive his disease was dangerous. 
 The doctors indeed thought there was no dan- 
 ger, and so they assured me and every body 
 else about Lord Byron. The sirocco wind con- 
 tinued to blow very strong ; and it was quite 
 impossible to remove him, unless it had abated 
 or changed. The same circumstance would have 
 prevented us sending for Dr. Thomas, or sending 
 to Zante for any body or any thing, had such a 
 measure been resolved on. 
 
 It was seven o'clock in the evening when I 
 saw him, and then I took a chair at his request, 
 and sat down by his bed-side, and remained till 
 ten o'clock. He sat up in his bed, and was then 
 calm and collected. He talked with me on a 
 variety of subjects connected with himself and 
 his family ; he spoke of his intentions as to 
 Greece, his plans for the campaign, and what he 
 should ultimately do for that country. He spoke to 
 me about my own adventures. He spoke of death 
 also with great composure, and though he did 
 not believe his end was so very near, there was 
 something about him so serious and so firm, so 
 
LORD BYRON'S LAST CALM MOMENTS. 121 
 
 resigned and composed, so different from any 
 thing I had ever before seen in him, that my 
 mind misgave me, and at times foreboded his 
 speedy dissolution. 
 
 " Parry," he said, when I first went to him, 
 " I have much wished to see you to-day. I have 
 had most strange feelings, but my head is now 
 better; I have no gloomy thoughts, and no idea 
 but that I shall recover. I am perfectly col- 
 lected, I am sure I am in my senses, but a me- 
 lancholy will creep over me at times." The 
 mention of the subject brought the melancholy 
 topics back, and a few exclamations shewed what 
 occupied Lord Byron's mind when he was left in 
 silence and solitude. " My wife ! My Ada ! My 
 country ! the situation of this place, my removal 
 impossible, and perhaps death, all combine to 
 make me sad. Since I have been ill, I have given 
 to all my plans much serious consideration. You 
 shall go on at your leisure preparing for building 
 the schooner, and when other things are done, 
 we will put the last hand to this work, by a visit 
 to America*. To reflect on this has been a 
 pleasure to me, and has turned my mind from 
 ungrateful thoughts. When I left Italy I had 
 time on board the brig to give full scope to me- 
 mory and reflection. It was then I came to that 
 
 * This was in connexion with his Lordship's views as to 
 Greece, stated in another place. 
 
122 HIS LAST CONVERSATION. 
 
 resolution I have already informed you of. I 
 am convinced of the happiness of domestic life. 
 No man on earth respects a virtuous woman more 
 than I do, and the prospect of retirement in 
 England with my wife and Ada, gives me an idea 
 of happiness I have never experienced before. 
 Retirement will be every thing to me, for here- 
 tofore my life has been like the ocean in a 
 storm." 
 
 Then adverting to his more immediate at- 
 tendants he said ; " I have closely observed to- 
 day the conduct of all around me. Tita is an 
 admirable fellow; he has not been out of the 
 house for several days. Bruno is an excellent 
 young man and very skilful, but I am afraid he 
 is too much agitated. I wish you to be as much 
 about me as possible, you may prevent me being 
 jaded to death, and when I recover I assure you 
 I shall adopt a different mode of living. They 
 must have misinformed you when they told you 
 I was asleep, I have not slept, and I can't imagine 
 why they should tell you I was asleep. 
 
 " You have no conception of the unaccounta- 
 ble thoughts which come into my mind when the 
 fever attacks me. I fancy myself a Jew, a Ma- 
 homedan, and a christian of every profession of 
 faith. Eternity and space are before me ; but on 
 this subject, thank God, I am happy and at ease. 
 The thought of living eternally, of again reviv- 
 
HIS FORLORN CONDITION. 123 
 
 ing\ is a great pleasure. Christianity is the 
 purest and most liberal religion in the world, 
 but the numerous teachers who are continually 
 worrying mankind with their denunciations and 
 their doctrines, are the greatest enemies of re- 
 ligion. I have read with more attention than 
 half of them the book of Christianity, and I ad- 
 mire the liberal and truly charitable principles 
 which Christ has laid down. There are ques- 
 tions connected with this subject which none 
 but Almighty God can solve. Time and space, 
 who can conceive — none but God, on him I 
 rely." 
 
 I had never before felt, as I felt that evening. 
 There was the gifted Lord Byron, who had been 
 the object of universal attention, who had, even 
 as a youth, been intoxicated with the idolatry of 
 men, and the more flattering love of women, 
 gradually expiring, almost forsaken, and certainly 
 without the consolation which generally awaits 
 the meanest of mankind, of breathing out his last 
 sigh in the arms of some dear friend. His habi- 
 tation was weather-tight, but that was nearly all 
 the comfort his deplorable room afforded him. 
 He was my protector and benefactor, and I could 
 not see him, whom I knew to have been so dif- 
 ferently brought up, thus perishing, far from his 
 home, far from all the comforts due to his rank 
 and situation, far too from every fond and affection- 
 
124 CONFIDENCE OF THE PHYSICIANS. 
 
 ate heart, without a feeling of deep sorrow, such 
 as I should not have had at the loss of my own 
 dearest relation. The pestilent sirocco was blow- 
 ing a hurricane, and the rain was falling with al- 
 most tropical violence. In our apartment, was 
 the calm of coming death, and outside, was the 
 storm desolating the spot around us, but carrying 
 I would fain hope, new life and vigour to some 
 stagnant part of nature. 
 
 This evening was, I believe, the last time Lord 
 Byron was calm and collected for any considerable 
 period. On the 16th he was alarmingly ill, and 
 almost constantly delirious. He spoke alternately 
 in English and Italian, and spoke very wildly. 
 I earnestly implored the doctors not to physic 
 and bleed him, and to keep his extremities warm, 
 for in them there was already the coldness of 
 coming death. I was told, there was no doubt 
 of Lord Byron's recovery, and that I might at- 
 tend to my business without apprehension. Half 
 assured by these positive assertions, I did leave 
 his Lordship, to attend to my duties in the ar- 
 senal. 
 
 On the 17th, when I saw him in the morning, 
 he was labouring at times under delirium. He 
 appeared much worse than the day before ; not- 
 withstanding this, he was again bled twice, and 
 both times fainted. His debility was excessive. 
 He complained bitterly of his want of sleep, as 
 
by ron's continued delirium. 125 
 
 delirious patients do complain, in a wild rambling 
 manner. He said he had not slept for more than 
 a week, when, in fact, he had repeatedly slept at 
 short intervals, disturbedly indeed, but still it was 
 sleep. He had now ceased to think or talk of 
 death ; he had probably, as Count Gamba has 
 said, no idea that his life was so soon to termi- 
 nate, for his senses were in such a state, that they 
 rarely allowed him to form a correct idea of any 
 thing-. Yet opinions, uttered under such circum- 
 stances, have been given to the world, by his 
 friends, as Lord Byron's settled opinions. " If," 
 he is made to say, " my hour is come, I shall die 
 whether I lose my blood or keep it." 
 
 Count Gamba indeed, says he transacted with 
 him a considerable quantity of business on the 
 16th, when Lord Byron was almost insensible, as 
 Mr. Fletcher has already testified, and as I now 
 testify. Those conversations which Count Gamba 
 reports, as heard by himself and others, are all of 
 that rambling character which distinguish deli- 
 rium. It is particularly necessary, to make this 
 observation, because a great degree of importance 
 is sometimes attributed to death-bed speeches. 
 In Lord Byron's case, whatever may be reported 
 as said by him, must be taken with the consider- 
 ation, that he was frequently delirious, for the 
 last five days of his existence. 
 
 On the 18th, it was settled by Prince Mavro- 
 
126 A CONSULTATION OP PHYSICIANS. 
 
 cordato, that I should march with the artillery 
 brigade and Suliotes to some little distance from 
 the town, and exercise them, in order to carry 
 the inhabitants along with us. This was Easter 
 day, and the Greeks being accustomed to cele- 
 brate it by firing muskets, we fell on this plan, to 
 prevent their disturbing Lord Byron. On this ac- 
 count I did not see much of Lord Byron till towards 
 the middle of the day. I saw him a short time 
 indeed, in the morning, and then he was very 
 delirious, and alarmingly ill. Such was the confu- 
 sion amongst the people about him on my return, 
 that I could learn little or nothing of what had 
 passed, except that a consultation had taken 
 place, two other medical men having been called 
 in, and that one of them, Dr. Treiber, a German, 
 had warmly condemned the mode in which Lord 
 Byron had been treated. It was by his recom- 
 mendation and advice, I believe, that it was now 
 resolved to administer bark, and I was sent for 
 to persuade Lord Byron to take it. I do not 
 know that it is possible to give a stronger proof 
 of Lord Byron's complete want of confidence in 
 his medical men, and of their conviction that he 
 had no confidence in them. Whether he was to 
 be bled or blistered, or receive stimulant medi- 
 cines, they felt that he would not listen to them, 
 and I, who was comparatively a stranger to Lord 
 Byron, or some one of his household, was obliged 
 
 
MODE OP TREATMENT ALTERED. 127 
 
 to enforce the physicians' recommendation. At 
 the moment of administering the bark, he seemed 
 sensible ; I spoke to him, and said, " My Lord, 
 take the bark, it will do you good, it will recover 
 your Lordship." He took my hand, and said, 
 " Give it me." He was able to swallow only a 
 very small quantity, about four mouthfuls I think. 
 Dr. Bruno seemed satisfied, however, and said, 
 " That will do." When he took my hand, I found 
 his hands were deadly cold. With the assistance 
 of Tita, I endeavoured gently to create a little 
 warmth in them ; and I also loosened the band- 
 age which was tied round his head. Till this 
 was done he seemed in great pain, clenched his 
 hands at times, gnashed his teeth, and uttered 
 the Italian exclamation of Ah Christi! He bore 
 the loosening of the band passively ; and after it 
 was loosened, he shed tears. I encouraged him 
 to weep, and said, " My Lord, I thank God, I 
 hope you will now be better; shed as many tears 
 as you can, you will sleep and find ease." He re- 
 plied faintly, " Yes, the pain is gone, I shall 
 sleep now," and he again took my hand, uttered 
 a faint good night, and sank into a slumber; my 
 heart ached, but I thought then his sufferings 
 were over, and that he would wake no more. 
 
 He did wake again, however, and I went to 
 him ; Byron knew me, though scarcely. He had 
 
128 DEATH OP LORD BYRON. 
 
 then less of alienation about him than I had seen 
 for some time before, there was the calmness of re- 
 signation, but there was also the stupor of death. He 
 tried to utter his wishes, but he was incapable ; he 
 said something about rewarding his Italian servant, 
 and uttered several incoherent words. There was 
 either no meaning in what he said, or it was such 
 a meaning, as we should not expect at that mo- 
 ment. His eyes continued open only a short 
 time, and then, about six o'clock in the evening 
 of the 18th, he sank into a slumber, or rather I 
 should say, a stupor, and woke and knew no more. 
 
 He continued in a state of complete insensibi- 
 lity for twenty-four hours ; giving no other signs 
 of life, but that rattling in his throat, which indi- 
 cated the approach of death. On Monday, April 
 19th, at six o'clock in the evening, even this faint 
 indication of existence had ceased — Lord Byron 
 was dead *. 
 
 Thus died George Lord Byron, the truest and 
 greatest poet England has lately given birth to, the 
 
 * At the very time Lord Byron died, there was one of the 
 most awful thunder storms lever witnessed. The lightning was 
 terrific. The Greeks, who are very superstitious, and generally 
 believe that such an event occurs whenever a much superior, or 
 as they say, a supreme man dies, immediately exclaimed, " The 
 great man is gone !" On the present occasion it was too true ; and 
 the storm was so violent, as to strengthen their superstitious 
 belief. Their friend and benefactor was indeed dead. 
 
CAUSES OP HIS DEATH. 129 
 
 warmest-hearted of her philanthropists, the least 
 selfish of her patriots, and unquestionably the 
 most distinguished man of her nobility. That the 
 disappointment of his ardent hopes was the pri- 
 mary cause of his illness and death, cannot, I 
 think, be doubted. The weight of that disap- 
 pointment was augmented by the numerous diffi- 
 culties he met with. He was fretted and annoyed, 
 but he disdained to complain. He had formed, 
 I admit, exaggerated expectations; but had they no 
 foundation, in the unfulfilled promises of the peo- 
 ple of England ; and was he not unworthily de- 
 ceived, either by the ignorant presumption or the 
 selfishness of those, who were anxious to obtain 
 the weight of his great name to the cause which 
 was the momentary theme of their declamation? 
 
 That he had miscalculated his own power, and 
 the probable resources of Greece, I also admit ; 
 but for the former, we may find a natural excuse, 
 in the very flattering manner in which he was in- 
 vited into that country * ; and on the latter, no man 
 had, or now has, any accurate information. He 
 shared with many wise and many ignorant men 
 the wide-spread but delusive notion, that an indi> 
 
 * As a specimen of this, I shall quote the following extract 
 from a letter of Prince Mavrocorclato to Lord Byron ; the date 
 is Missolonghi, December 29th. " Je n'ai pas besoin de vous 
 dire, mi Lord, combien il me tard de vous voir arriver ; a quel 
 point votre presence est desiree de tout le monde, et quelle di- 
 rection avantaguese, elle donnera a toutes les affaires, vos 
 
 K 
 
130 HIS DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 
 
 vidual limited, as we all are to a portion of wis- 
 dom and power, scarcely commensurate to our 
 individual wants, may bestow great benefits on a 
 whole nation, or even on the species ; and he 
 expected on his appearance in Greece, to recon- 
 cile contending chieftains, to hush the voice of 
 angry ambition, to sooth the disappointed passions 
 of opposing factions, and to direct all hearts and 
 minds, as his own heart and mind were directed, 
 to the single object of liberating Greece. This 
 object, beautiful as it is in theory, is one which 
 a succession of wise men, and a long lapse of 
 time, only can accomplish. That Lord Byron 
 failed, ought not therefore to surprise us. That 
 he ever suffered such a chimerical idea to obtain 
 possession of his poetical mind, might be to us a 
 matter of lasting astonishment, had we not seen 
 those, who are said to be masters of reason, and 
 patterns of philosophy, expect to accomplish pre- 
 cisely the same object, by a few instructions 
 
 conseils seront ecoute comme des oracles et nous ne perdrons pas 
 le terns le plus precieux cle nos operations contre l'ennemi." 
 
 And also this extract of a letter from Colonel Stanhope to 
 Lord Byron, dated December 2S and 29, from the same place. 
 " It is right and necessary to tell you, that a great deal is ex- 
 pected from you, both in the way of counsel and money." " AH 
 are eager to see you." " I walked along the street this evening, 
 and the people asked me after Lord Byron ! ! !" "I hope your 
 Lordship will proceed hither — you are expected with feverish 
 anxiety. Your further delay in coming will be attended with 
 serious consequences." L. S. 
 
 
THE IGNORANCE OF THE PHYSICIANS. 131 
 
 dictated in their closets. That the idea is chi- 
 merical is beyond all question ; but, were it pos- 
 sible to realize it, Lord Byron adopted a much 
 more likely method to succeed, than those who 
 drew up constitutions and codes for Greece ; and 
 whose great pride it was, in opposition to him, to 
 enforce them. 
 
 But though, in my opinion, the primary cause of 
 Lord Byron's death was the serious disappoint- 
 ment he suffered, I must not therefore be under- 
 stood to say, that no art could have saved him. 
 From the symptoms of his disease, as recorded 
 by his medical attendant, and from the state of 
 his body on dissection, physicians may probably 
 form a different opinion of the immediate causes 
 of his death, from the one I entertain. They 
 may say, as a writer in the ' Westminster Re- 
 view' has said, " that he died in consequence 
 of an inflammation of the brain ; at least, if the 
 appearances really were as described. The cause 
 of the attack, was the exposure to wet and cold, 
 on the 9th of April. By this exposure fever was 
 excited. That he might have been saved, by 
 early and copious bleeding, is certain. That his 
 medical attendants had not, until it was too late to do 
 anything, any suspicion of the true nature of his disease, 
 we are fully satisfied,,'' 
 
 The latter part of this quotation, expresses my 
 
 opinion. The physicians knew nothing whatever 
 
 K 2 
 
132 HIS DISEASE NOT INFLAMMATORY. 
 
 of the nature of his disease. But I shall further 
 say, not only on account of Dr. Bruno being an 
 interested person, but also on account of the 
 great agitation he suffered, so as to bewilder him, 
 for the last ten days of Lord Byron's life, that he 
 is an incompetent witness, as to the state of the 
 body after death. But this statement is the only 
 ground for the reviewer's opinion, that early and 
 copious bleeding would have saved Lord Byron's 
 life. In this statement, be it also remarked, he 
 does not place implicit confidence. Let any man, 
 therefore, take into account the mode in which 
 Lord Byron lived in Greece, together with his 
 former habits, and the severe exercise he then 
 took, and I think a conviction will immediately 
 arise in his mind, as in mine, that Lord Byron's 
 disease needed not the remedy of bleeding. 
 
 He was, before the fever attacked him, reduced 
 to a mere shadow; and the slow fever as it is called 
 by Mr. Fletcher, which terminated his existence, 
 was only the symptom of that general disease, 
 which, from the time of my arrival in Greece, had 
 been gradually wasting his frame. However 
 learnedly the doctors may talk and write on the 
 matter, it is plain and palpable to common ob- 
 servation, that Lord Byron was worried, and 
 starved to death . A part of his irritation arose 
 from the structure of his own mind ; but much of 
 it was caused by those with whom he was con- 
 
OTHER DISASTERS IN GREECE. loO 
 
 nected, in, and about the affairs of Greece. His 
 diet was dictated by his own will, and for that he 
 is responsible, but for the medical treatment his 
 physicians must answer. 
 
 To pacify the people of this empire, for the loss 
 of one of the greatest, if not the greatest of their 
 poets, and one of the most ardent champions of 
 rational freedom, they have been told, that the 
 structure of his frame did not promise a long life. 
 The eagerness with which this circumstance was 
 put forward, indicates a conviction in other bosoms 
 than mine, that a different treatment would have 
 saved Lord Byron's valuable life. He cannot 
 now be recalled ; anger would only disturb his 
 ashes ; but in proportion as we loved and valued 
 him, must we be displeased at those whose con- 
 duct hastened his dissolution. 
 
 Before I conclude this chapter, I cannot help 
 adverting to some other disastrous consequences, 
 which have resulted, from our interfering in the 
 affairs of Greece. Perhaps Lord Byron's loss may 
 outweigh all the other casualties, but it was not the 
 only one. Lord Charles Murray, an upright and 
 honourable-young-minded man, also fell a victim to 
 his zeal for Grecian liberty, and died at Gastouni. 
 To say nothing of those who fell by the hand of 
 the enemy, several, besides Lieutenant Sass, have 
 been killed in what may be called civil broils. Mr. 
 
134 CONSEQUENCES OF OUR INTERFERENCE. 
 
 Gill, the foreman in the laboratory, died of dis- 
 ease ; and Mr.Blackett and Mr. Winter terminated 
 their existence by their own hands. I have al- 
 ready stated what was the result of sending out the 
 mechanics. They were of no use to Greece. As 
 the price of our assistance, whatever may have 
 been our intentions, we have in fact widened the 
 divisions among the chieftains ; we offered to 
 them a prize, which each was eager to gain at the 
 expense of the others ; we, introduced plans for 
 codes of laws, and other measures which had for 
 their object to An gl if 1/ Greece; we saddled them 
 with a number of foreigners, who excited the ha- 
 tred of the people ; and we, I believe, as many intel- 
 ligent Greeks believe, have postponed, by our in- 
 terference, the hour of their final liberation. That 
 the wish among our people to assist the Greeks 
 was and is ardent and sincere no man can doubt ; 
 that the high and exalted individuals whose 
 names are attached to the Greek committee, were 
 and are zealous in watching over the management 
 of the funds committed to their charge, is to be 
 presumed, from their known integrity ; but every 
 man must deplore, that the means placed at their 
 disposal have been applied with so little judg- 
 ment, or with so little discrimination, that where 
 it was intended to confer benefits, only mischief 
 has been inflicted. 
 
135 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 OCCURRENCES AFTER LORD BYRON'S DEATH. 
 
 F am taken ill — Go to Zante — Grief in Greece at Lord Byron's Death — 
 Great affliction at Missolonghi — Proclamation of Prince Mavrocor- 
 dato — Lord Byron's Papers — Arrival of the Florida, and the Loan — 
 Count Gamba's Description of the Ceremonies at Missolonghi — Arri- 
 val of Colonel Stanhope at Zante — Lord Byron's Body conveyed to 
 England — Its Arrival — The Fuueral — Anecdote of a Sailor — Time 
 and place of Interment 
 
 The history of a man like Lord Byron does not 
 close with his life ; and the world generally re- 
 ceives with pleasure, even the most minute details 
 concerning the disposal of his body after death. 
 As far, however, as I am personally able to give 
 any account of what was done with Lord Byron's 
 corpse, and of the honours paid to his memory, 
 my narrative must be very brief. Unfortunately, I 
 was myself taken ill, before he breathed his last ; and 
 was so little able to exert myself, that I was scarcely 
 sensible of what was passing around me. My con- 
 stitution is naturally a good one, but it was worn 
 down by the climate of such a place as Misso- 
 longhi, and the fatigues I had latterly undergone. 
 My health was so deranged, that the medical 
 men advised my removal from the spot, and on 
 April 21st, I left Missolonghi, I arrived at 
 
136 GENERAL GRIEF AT LORD BVRON's DEATH. 
 
 Zantc on the following day, carrying with me 
 the first intelligence of Lord Byron's death; of 
 course my connexion with him had ceased entirely. 
 I can scarcely say, that I was a witness even of 
 what occurred at Missolonghi, for I was confined 
 to my chamber ; but as I have been led, for my 
 own gratification, to ascertain some of the parti- 
 culars of what happened after his death, up to the 
 time of his being deposited in the tomb of his 
 ancestors, and as such particulars will give a 
 completeness to my subject, it would otherwise 
 want, the reader will, I trust, allow me to present 
 him with a short description of them, from other 
 sources than personal observation. 
 
 As soon as it was known, that Lord Byron was 
 dead, sorrow and grief were generally felt in 
 Greece. They spread from his own apartments, 
 and from amongst his domestics and friends, over 
 the town of Missolonghi, through the whole 
 of Greece, and over every part of civilized 
 Europe. Wherever the English language is 
 known, there the w T orks and the genius of Byron 
 are admired ; and wherever our language is 
 known, his death was lamented. I need not tell 
 the people of England, how profound a sensation 
 that news caused among them. Every little anec- 
 dote, every little incident concerning him, was 
 eagerly narrated, and not one public writer of 
 any eminence, — for even those who were his cne- 
 
SORROW AT MISsOLONGHI. lo7 
 
 « 
 
 mies, bore testimony to his unrivalled powers 
 by their attacks — not one journal but spoke of 
 the death of Lord Byron, as they would of an 
 earthquake, of a victory that had saved the na- 
 tion, or of any other very remarkable event, as the 
 single all-engrossing topic of the day. The chord 
 of affliction, which was struck at Missolonghi, 
 vibrated its painful and melancholy notes through 
 the whole of Europe. 
 
 But although the death of Lord Byron was 
 everywhere felt as a severe loss, although the 
 friends of true liberty mourned him, as one of the 
 bravest and purest of their champions, and the 
 lovers of heart-stirring poetry regretted him as 
 the first of writers ; yet no where was he more 
 deeply lamented, than in Greece. He was both 
 the poet and the defender of that once brilliant 
 but now humbled country. No persons, perhaps, 
 after his domestics and personal friends, felt his 
 loss more acutely than the poor citizens of Mis- 
 solonghi. His residence among them gave them 
 food, and ensured them protection. But for him, 
 they would have been first plundered by the un- 
 paid Suliotes, and then left a prey to the Turks. 
 Not only were the Primates, and Prince Mavro- 
 cordato affected on the occasion, but the poorest 
 citizen felt that he had lost a friend. The prince 
 wept bitterly, and deplored his own situation as 
 made most unfortunate by the death of Lord 
 
138 PRINCE MAVROCORDATO'S GRIEF. 
 
 Byron. He spoke of him as the great friend of 
 Greece ; and of his conduct as widely different 
 from that of other foreigners. " Nobody knows," 
 he said, " except perhaps myself the loss Greece 
 has suffered. Her safety even depended on his 
 continuing in existence. His presence here has 
 checked intrigues which will now have uncon- 
 trolled sway. By his aid, alone, have I been able 
 to preserve Missolonghi ; and now I know, that 
 every assistance I derived from him will be taken 
 away. Already a conspiracy has been formed to 
 break up the establishment here ; and now there 
 is every probability it will be successful. The 
 foreigners here will support the enemies of the 
 government, and Missolonghi will be made bare, 
 to aggrandize some of the captains." 
 
 The proclamation which he issued on this occa- 
 sion might have been dictated by maxims of state 
 policy, though I believe no individual in Greece, 
 as far as political influence was concerned, had 
 more reason to regret Lord Byron than he had; 
 but I am sure its sentiments echoed those of the 
 greater part of the citizens. It was on the day 
 after Lord Byron's death, amidst the festivities of 
 Easter, that Mavrocordato made the event publicly 
 known, in the following terms : 
 
 Provisional Government of Western Greece. 
 
 The present day ol* festivity and rejoicing has become one of 
 sorrow and of mourning. The Lord Noel Byron departed this 
 
ORDER FOR PUBLIC MOURNING. 139 
 
 life at six o'clock in the afternoon, after an illness of ten days . 
 his death being caused by an inflammatory fever. Such was 
 the effect of his Lordship's illness on the public mind, that all 
 classes had forgotten their usual recreations of Easter, even 
 before the afflicting event was apprehended. 
 
 The loss of this illustrious individual is undoubtedly to be 
 deplored by all Greece ; but it must be more especially a sub- 
 ject of lamentation at Missolonghi, where his generosity has 
 been so conspicuously displayed, and of which he had even be- 
 come a citizen, with the further determination of participating 
 in all the dangers of the war. 
 
 Every body is acquainted with the beneficent acts of his 
 Lordship, and none can cease to hail his name as that of a real 
 benefactor. 
 
 Until, therefore, the final determination of the national go- 
 vernment be known, and by virtue of the powers Avith which it 
 has been pleased to invest me, I hereby decree, 
 
 1st. To-morrow morning, at day-light, thirty-seven minute 
 guns shall be fired from the Grand Battery, being the number 
 which corresponds with the age of the illustrious deceased. 
 
 2d. All the public offices, even the tribunals, are to remain 
 closed for three successive clays. 
 
 3d. All the shops, except those in which provisions or medi- 
 cines are sold, shall also be shut ; and it is strictly enjoined that 
 every species of public amusement, and other demonstrations of 
 festivity at Easter, shall be suspended. 
 
 4th. A general mourning will be observed for twenty-one 
 days. 
 
 5th. Prayers and a funeral service are to be offered up in all 
 
 the churches. 
 
 (Signed) A. Mavrocordato. 
 
 George Praidis, Secretary. 
 Given at Missolonghi, 
 
 this 19th day of April, 1S24. 
 
140 LORD BYRON'S PAPERS. 
 
 At other cities and places of Greece, at Salona, 
 where the congress had just assembled; at Athens, 
 the grief was equally sincere. Lord Byron was 
 mourned as the best benefactor to Greece. Ora- 
 tions were pronounced by the priests, and the 
 same honours were paid to his memory, as to the 
 memory of one of their own most revered chiefs. 
 
 On the day after Lord Byron's death, Count 
 Gamba, Prince Mavrocordato, or rather two gen- 
 tlemen, nominated by him, and myself, proceeded 
 to examine Lord Byron's papers and property. 
 We took an inventory of every thing, and sealed 
 up all his effects. The papers, &c, were after- 
 wards conveyed to his Lordship's executors. 
 Among them, we found those deservedly cele- 
 brated verses, which Lord Byron composed on 
 his thirty-sixth birth-day. He had read them, I 
 believe, to his friends before, but no copy had 
 ever been taken of them till then : I subjoin them 
 below*. Some stanzas of the, I believe, XVIIth 
 
 * " January 22d, 1S24-, Missolonghi. 
 " ON THIS DAY I COMPLETE MY THIRTY-SIXTH YEAR." 
 
 " 'Tis time this heart should be unmoved, 
 Since others it hath ceased to move; 
 Yet though I cannot be beloved, 
 Still let me love ! 
 
 " My days are in the yellow leaf; 
 The flowers and fruits of love are gone ; 
 The worm, the canker, and the grief, 
 
 Are mine alone ! " The 
 
 
BIRTH-DAY ODE. 141 
 
 Canto of Don Juan were also found ; but there 
 was no will, nor any directions for the disposal of 
 his property in Greece. 
 
 " The fire that on my bosom preys, 
 Is lone as some volcanic isle ; 
 No torch is kindled at its blaze — 
 A funeral pile ! 
 
 " The hope, the fear, the jealous care, 
 The exalted portion of the pain 
 And power of love, I cannot share, 
 But wear the chain. 
 
 " But 'tis not thus, and 'tis not here 
 Such thoughts should shake my soul ; nor now 
 Where glory decks the hero's bier, 
 Or binds his brow. 
 
 " The sword, the banner, and the field, 
 Glory and Greece around me see ! 
 The Spartan, borne upon his shield, 
 Was not more free. 
 
 " Awake ! (not Greece, — she is awake !) 
 Awake, my spirit ! Think through whom 
 Thy life-blood tracks its parent lake, 
 And then strike home ! 
 
 " Tread those reviving passions down, 
 Unworthy manhood ! Unto thee, 
 Indifferent should the smile or frown 
 
 Of beauty be. «« If 
 
142 MY ARRIVAL AT ZANTE. 
 
 His Lordship had already placed funds at my 
 command, for the payment of the brigade, the 
 repairs of the fortifications, and the other works 
 carrying on under my directions, up to May 1st, 
 and after paying up the brigade and workmen to 
 that period, so that no stop might be put to the 
 service, and after arranging Lord Byron's papers, 
 I made my own preparations for going to Zante. 
 Prince Mavrocordato intrusted me with letters to 
 convey to that place, and I went there in the 
 vessel, which carried the news of Lord Byron's 
 death. The information caused almost as much 
 gloom at the Ionian islands, as at Missolonghi : 
 Lord Byron had many friends there, and the 
 greater part of the people, though neither zealous 
 nor charitable, were well-wishers to the cause of 
 Greece. Lord Sidney Osborne, a friend and re- 
 lation of Lord Byron's, sent off a messenger to 
 England with the news, and it was publicly known 
 in London on May 16th. For my part, I was so 
 unwell on my arrival at Zante, that I was obliged 
 
 " If thou regret'st thy youth, why live? 
 The land of honourable death 
 Is here: — up to the field, and give 
 Away thy breath ! 
 
 " Seek out, less often sought than found, 
 A soldier's grave — for thee the best ; 
 Then look around, and choose thy ground, 
 And take thv rest." 
 
PROCEEDINGS AT MISSOLONGHI. 143 
 
 lo have a physician, and to take up my abode in 
 the Quarantine-house. Two days after my ar- 
 rival, Mr. Blaquiere arrived in the Florida, bring- 
 ing with him the first instalment of the loan. 
 
 There were some doubts, what to do with 
 Lord Byron's body. Colonel Stanhope, indeed, 
 had a plan even for the disposal of that, and re- 
 commended, immediately he heard of his death, 
 that it should be deposited at Athens. Had 
 any attempts been made to carry such a pro- 
 posal into execution, I was prepared to op- 
 pose it with an unanswerable argument. In con- 
 versation with me, Lord Byron had frequently 
 said, " Well, old boy, should you kick the bucket 
 in Greece, have you any wish that your body 
 should be sent to England ?" " No, my Lord, 
 no particular wish." " Well, I have then ; and 
 mind this shall be an agreement betwixt us — If 
 I should die in Greece, and you survive me, 
 do you see that my body is sent to England ; and if 
 I survive you, I will take care that every request 
 you make shall be complied with, and I'll take 
 care those little fellows of your's at home shall 
 not want." The wish conveyed in these words 
 I was determined to see executed ; and men- 
 tioned to Count Gamba, both atMissolonghi and 
 Zante, that if any thought was entertained of 
 carrying Colonel Stanhope's plan into execution, 
 I would immediately write to England ; for I 
 
144* FUNERAL CEREMONY. 
 
 considered such a wish, so expressed, far more 
 sacred, and far more binding on every person 
 connected with Lord Byron, than any scheme or 
 whim as to the disposal of his body, which might 
 be formed by Colonel Stanhope. More ra- 
 tional counsels, however, prevailed, and it was 
 settled that the corpse should be sent to England. 
 The medical men at Missolonghi opened the 
 body, and embalmed it. The heart, brain, and in- 
 testines, were enclosed in different vessels, and 
 one of them was left in Greece ; the body was 
 placed in a chest lined with tin, as it was not 
 possible, at Missolonghi, to procure lead sufficient 
 for a coffin, and was sent to England. 
 
 " At sunrise, on April 20th," says Count 
 Gamba, " on the morning after his death, seven- 
 and-thirty minute guns were fired from the prin- 
 cipal battery of the fortress ; and one of the bat- 
 teries of the corps under his orders also fired one 
 gun every half hour, for the succeeding four-and- 
 twenty hours. We were soon apprized that the 
 Turks at Patras, hearing our cannon, and learn- 
 ing the cause, testified their satisfaction, and in- 
 sulted over our sorrows by discharges of mus- 
 ketry: this tribute alone was wanting to the me- 
 mory of the benefactor of Greece ; — but the bar- 
 barians may have occasion to lament the loss of 
 the friend of humanity, and the protector of the 
 oppressed. 
 
CAREMONIES OVER HIS CORPSE. 145 
 
 4S April 21.— For the remainder of this day and 
 the next, a silence, like that of the grave, pre- 
 vailed over the whole city. We intended to have 
 performed the funeral ceremony on the twenty- 
 first, but the continued rain prevented us. The 
 next day (22d), however, we acquitted ourselves 
 of that sad duty, as far as our humble means 
 would permit. In the midst of his own brigade, 
 of the troops of the government, and of the whole 
 population, on the shoulders of the officers of his 
 corps, relieved occasionally by other Greeks, the 
 most precious portion of his honoured remains 
 were carried to the church, where lie the bodies 
 of Marco Bozzari and of General Normann. 
 There we laid them down : the coffin was a rude, 
 ill-constructed chest of wood ; a black mantle 
 served for a pall ; and over it we placed a helmet 
 and a sword, and a crown of laurel. But no 
 funeral pomp could have left the impression, nor 
 spoken the feelings, of this simple ceremony. 
 The wretchedness and desolation of the place 
 itself; the wild and half civilized warriors around 
 us; their deep-felt, unaffected grief; the fond 
 recollections ; the disappointed hopes ; the anxi- 
 eties and sad presentiments which might be read 
 on every countenance — all contributed to form a 
 scene more moving, more truly affecting, than 
 perhaps was ever before witnessed round the 
 grave of a great man. 
 
 L 
 
146 lord byron's remains at zante. 
 
 " When the funeral service was over, we left 
 the bier in the middle of the church, where it 
 remained until the evening of the next day, and 
 was guarded by a detachment of his own brigade. 
 The church was crowded without cessation by 
 those who came to honour and to regret the be- 
 nefactor of Greece. In the evening of the 23d, 
 the bier was privately carried back by his officers 
 to his own house. The coffin was not closed till 
 the 29th of the month. Immediately after his 
 death, his countenance had an air of calmness, 
 mingled with a severity, that seemed gradually 
 to soften ; for when I took a last look of him, 
 the expression, at least to my eyes, was truly 
 sublime." 
 
 On May 2d, the remains of Lord Byron were 
 embarked, under a salute from the guns of the 
 fortress. "How different," exclaims Count Gamba, 
 " from that, which had welcomed the arrival of 
 Byron, only four months ago." After a passage of 
 three days, the vessel reached Zante ; and the pre- 
 cious deposit was placed in the quarantine house. 
 Here some additional precautions were taken, to 
 ensure its safe arrival in England, by providing 
 another case for the body. On May the 10th, 
 Colonel Stanhope arrived at Zante, from the Mo- 
 rea ; and much to my surprise, as well as indig- 
 nation, rated me soundly for my strict obedience 
 to Lord Byron's orders. He asked me, among 
 
 
ARRIVAL OF THE BODY IN ENGLAND. 147 
 
 other things, who gave me authority to call 
 Mavrocordato Prince? He was the only man I 
 saw in Greece, who both by his actions and his 
 words, shewed, that he had no respect for the 
 talents of Byron while living, and no regret for 
 his death. But I cannot do justice to him, in 
 a paragraph, and must therefore hereafter resume 
 the subject. 
 
 Colonel Stanhope was on his way back to Eng- 
 land, and he therefore took charge of Lord By- 
 ron's remains, and embarked with them on board 
 the Florida. On the 25th of May she sailed from 
 Zante, and arrived in the Downs on June 29th. 
 She afterwards went to Stangate Creek, to per- 
 form quarantine, where she arrived on Thursday, 
 July 1st. 
 
 John Cam Hobhouse, Esq., and John Hanson, 
 Esq., Lord Byron's executors, after having proved 
 his will, claimed the body from the Florida; and 
 under their directions, it was removed to the 
 house of Sir Edward Knatchbull, No. 20, Great 
 George Street, Westminster. Preparations were 
 then made for the funeral. On Friday and Sa- 
 turday, July 9th and 10th, the body lay in state, 
 and was visited by a great number of noblemen 
 and gentlemen. The crowd would probably have 
 been too great, had every person been admitted, 
 and therefore those only who could procure 
 tickets issued for the purpose, were allowed to 
 
14-8 FUNERAL PROCESSION. 
 
 pay the last tribute of their admiration to this il- 
 lustrious man. By his friends, and those who 
 knew him well, Lord Byron is described as not 
 much altered in his appearance by death. He 
 was thinner, more care-worn than formerly, but 
 the lineaments of his face were unchanged, there 
 was no mark of suffering in his countenance, and 
 he appeared as if he were in a deep sleep. 
 Some difference of opinion existed, as to where he 
 was to be buried ; it having been suggested, that 
 he should be placed either in Westminster Abbey, 
 or in Saint Paul's Cathedral ; but the good taste 
 of his sister, Mrs. Leigh prevailed, and it was 
 settled that he should be laid, agreeably to a wish 
 expressed in his writings, in the family vault 
 at Newstead, and near his mother. 
 
 On Monday, July 12th, at eleven o'clock in 
 the morning, the funeral procession, attended by 
 a great number of noblemen's and gentlemen's 
 carriages, and by crowds of people, who evinced 
 a deep sympathy, left the house at Westminster, 
 and traversed various streets of the metropolis, 
 to reach the north road. At Pancras Gate, the 
 carriages returned; the procession was at an 
 end, and the hearse proceeded by slow stages to 
 Nottingham. 
 
 One little incident is narrated in the public 
 journals of the day, which seems worthy of re- 
 ceiving that trifling additional circulation I may 
 
PLACE OP INTERMENT. H9 
 
 hope this book will give to it. As the procession 
 proceeded through the streets of London, a fine 
 looking honest tar was observed to walk near the 
 hearse uncovered throughout the morning; and 
 on being asked by a stranger whether he formed 
 part of the funeral cortege, he replied that he 
 came there to pay his respects to the deceased, 
 with whom he had served in the Levant, when 
 he made the tour of the Grecian islands. This 
 poor fellow was kindly offered a place by some 
 of the servants who were behind the carriage, 
 but he said he was strong, and had rather walk 
 near the hearse. 
 
 It was not till Friday, July 16th, that the in- 
 terment took place. Lord Byron was buried in 
 the family vault at the village church of Huck- 
 nel, eight miles beyond Nottingham, and within 
 two miles of Newstead Abbey, once the pro- 
 perty of the Byron family. He was accompanied 
 to the grave by crowds of persons eager to shew 
 this last testimony of respect to his memory. In 
 one of his earlier poems he had expressed a wish 
 that his dust might mingle with his mother's, 
 and in compliance with this wish, his coffin was 
 placed in the vault next to her's. It was twenty 
 minutes past four o'clock on Friday, July 16th, 
 182i, when the ceremony was concluded, when 
 the tomb closed forever on Byron, and when his 
 friends were relieved from every care concerning 
 
150 INSCRIPTION ON THE COFFIN. 
 
 him, save that of doing justice to his memory, 
 and of cherishing his fame. 
 
 It would have been easy forme to have swelled 
 out my book with many details on this last and 
 closing scene of Lord Byron's connexion with 
 the world ; and these details are not destitute of 
 interest; but they belong not to my subject, nor 
 am I capable of doing either them or him justice. 
 At the same time I thought it was necessary to 
 give a very brief outline of the leading events up to 
 the time of his being deposited in his last resting- 
 place ; and having now done that, I shall return 
 to what fell under my own observations, and to 
 record some of Lord Byron's opinions. 
 
 The following inscription was placed on the 
 coffin : — 
 
 " George Gordon Noel Byron, 
 
 "LORD BYRON, 
 
 « Of Rochdale. 
 
 '• BORN IN LONDON, 
 
 JAN. 22, 1788, 
 
 " DIED AT MISSOLONGHI, 
 
 IN WESTERN GREECE, 
 
 " APRIL 19TH, 1824." 
 
 An urn accompanied the coffin, and on it was 
 inscribed, 
 
 " Within this urn are deposited the heart, brain, $c, 
 " of the deceased Lord Byron." 
 
151 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 TRAITS OF CHARACTER IN LORD BYRON. 
 
 Lord Byron's partiality for practical jokes — Mode of curing ill-timed 
 gallantry — An artificial earthquake — His shooting amusements — 
 Greek scolds — His motley regiment — His description of it — Pu- 
 nishment of polygamy — Lord Byron's frankness — Tells Prince 
 Mavrocordato I had abused him — Adventure with the Turkish 
 women — Anecdote of a Greek peasant woman. 
 
 In this chapter I shall bring together a few of 
 Lord Byron's familiar acts, illustrative of his 
 character. It may be as well to remind the 
 reader before he peruses them, of the noble 
 birth and neglected education of Lord Byron. 
 Should he at the same time be acquainted with 
 the conduct in general of young men of Lord 
 Byron's rank, he will not I think find much to 
 censure in some of the practical but harmless 
 jokes he sometimes played off* on others. I 
 mean not to defend such practices, on princi- 
 ple, and I think nothing is more deserving of 
 reprobation, than for a man in any situation to 
 sport with the feelings of those who dare not 
 retaliate. If Lord Byron was in one instance 
 guilty of this, he may well be excused by the 
 
152 MODE OF CURING GALLANTRY. 
 
 example of others ; and he had what they have 
 not, both talents and virtues to redeem his faults. 
 He was at his death only a young man, and had 
 not lost all those buoyant and fervid spirits which 
 distinguished his youth. Tn Greece, though he 
 was surrounded with difficulties, they grew not 
 out of his own conduct, and could not be removed 
 by his efforts. He might have left the country, 
 and thus have escaped from them, but this his 
 pride or his honour forbade ; and Ave cannot 
 severely condemn him for sometimes having re- 
 course to a species of amusement to forget them, 
 which, under other circumstances, no man would 
 approve of. The following specimens of these 
 practical jokes may perhaps satisfy the reader's 
 curiosity. 
 
 One of Lord Byron's household had on more 
 than one occasion involved himself and his mas- 
 ter in perplexity and trouble by his unrestrained 
 attachment to women. In Greece this had been 
 very annoying, and induced Lord Byron to think 
 of a means of curing it. A young Suliote of the 
 guard was accordingly dressed up like a woman, 
 and instructed to place himself in the way of 
 the amorous swain. The bait took, and after 
 some communication, had rather by signs than 
 by words, for the pair did not understand each 
 other's language, the sham lady was carefully 
 conducted by the gallant to one of Lord Byron's 
 
AN ARTIFICIAL EARTHQUAKE. 153 
 
 apartments. Here the couple were surprised by 
 an enraged Suliote, an husband provided for the 
 occasion, accompanied by half a dozen of his 
 comrades, whose presence and threats terrified 
 the poor lacquey almost out of his senses. The 
 noise of course brought Lord Byron to the spot, 
 to laugh at the tricked serving man, and rescue 
 him from the effects of his terror. 
 
 A few days after the earthquake, which took 
 place on February 21st, as we were all sitting at 
 table in the evening, we were suddenly alarmed 
 by a noise and a shaking of the house, somewhat 
 similar to that which we had experienced when 
 the earthquake occurred. Of course all started 
 from their places, and there was the same kind 
 of confusion as on the former evening, at which 
 Byron, who was present, laughed immoderately ; 
 we were re-assured by this, and soon learnt that 
 the whole was a method he had adopted to sport 
 with our fears. 
 
 Over the room where we were sitting, he had 
 placed a number of Suliotes, who had been in- 
 structed, at a given signal, to catch hold of the 
 rafters and jump on the floor with all their 
 weight, so as to shake the house. They were 
 on this point ready pupils, and effectually ac- 
 complished Lord Byron's wishes, by frightening 
 the whole of the persons not let into the secret. 
 
 I have been accused of gaining an influence 
 
154 AN ARTIFICIAL EARTHQUAKE. 
 
 over Lord Byron, by submitting to be his butt. 
 The accusation is as injurious to his character as 
 to mine ; and, probably, as I cannot deny that I 
 was one of the persons with whom he thus sported 
 on this occasion, it is on this circumstance that the 
 accusation is founded. But I did not submit to 
 this practical joke without making those remon- 
 strances, threatening to quit his Lordship's ser- 
 vice, if such jokes were repeated, which were 
 the only arms I could use. I may say, being a ve- 
 teran in the service, that when dangers are to be 
 encountered which courage enables a man to sur- 
 mount, I am not defective in this moral quality ; 
 but I am yet to learn if it be disgraceful to be 
 terrified at so unlooked-for and so overwhelming 
 a calamity ; I am yet to learn if it be disgraceful 
 to hasten from crumbling buildings, and seek that 
 safety which flight may, but which nothing else 
 can give. I own that I thought then, as I think 
 now, that this was carrying a joke somewhat too 
 far; for perhaps of all visitations an earthquake, 
 from its suddenness, from the almost impossibility 
 of escape, and from the wide-spread devastation 
 it occasions, scarcely sparing the reason of those 
 who witness it and survive, is the most terrific. 
 If there be in nature one legitimate source for a 
 panic, it must be the apprehension of an earth- 
 quake. We had all seen the ruins of one at 
 Zante, we had heard of another at Aleppo, and 
 
SHOOTING AMUSEMENTS. 155 
 
 consequently in Greece, a more unfit subject for 
 a joke like the one I have described, cannot be 
 conceived. So I told Lord Byron ; and I have 
 reason to believe, if he had before met with 
 similar reproof, when he indulged in similar 
 tricks, he would never have incurred the disgrace 
 which belongs to him for this. 
 
 Opposite to Lord Byron's quarters was a house 
 built in the Turkish fashion, having little turrets, 
 on the top of which were a number of small 
 ornaments. The house was inhabited chiefly by 
 women. One of Lord Byron's most frequent 
 amusements was to shoot at these ornaments 
 with his pistols ; and he was so expert, that he 
 seldom missed. Before his death the house was 
 entirely stripped of all its honours. Every time 
 he fired however, the report brought forth some 
 of the women, who scolded most vehemently in 
 the Greek language, proving, as he said, that it 
 had not lost any of its Billingsgate since the time 
 of Homer's heroes. The women seemed glad of 
 the opportunity of giving free license to their 
 tongues, and Byron said he liked so much to 
 hear and see them, that he would not be without 
 the sport for a considerable sum. 
 
 The regiment, or rather the brigade we formed, 
 can be described only as he himself described it. 
 There was a Greek tailor, who had been in the 
 British service in the Ionian islands, where he 
 
156 MOTLEY NATURE OP THE BRIGADE. 
 
 had married an Italian woman. This lady know- 
 ing something of the military service, petitioned 
 Lord Byron to appoint her husband master-tailor 
 of the brigade. The suggestion was useful, and 
 this part of her petition was immediately granted. 
 At the same time however she solicited that she 
 might be permitted to raise a corps of women, to 
 be placed under her orders, to accompany the 
 regiment. She stipulated for free quarters and 
 rations for them, but rejected all claim for pay. 
 They were to be free of all incumbrances, and 
 were to wash, sew, cook, and otherwise provide 
 for the men. The proposition pleased Lord 
 Byron, and stating the matter to me, said he 
 hoped I should have no objection. I had been 
 accustomed to see women accompany the English 
 army, and I knew that though sometimes an in- 
 cumbrance, they were on the whole more bene- 
 ficial than otherwise. In Greece there were 
 many circumstances, which would make their 
 services extremely valuable, and I gave my con- 
 sent to the measure. The tailor's wife did ac- 
 cordingly recruit a considerable number of un- 
 incumbered women, of almost all nations, but 
 principally Greeks, Italians, Maltese, and ne- 
 gresses. " I was afraid," said Lord Byron, 
 "when I mentioned this matter to you, you would 
 be crusty, and oppose it, — it is the very thing. 
 Let me see, my corps outdoes FalstafTs : there 
 
PUNISHMENT FOR POLYGAMY. 157 
 
 are English, Germans, French, Maltese, Ragu- 
 sians, Italians, Neapolitans, Transylvanians, Rus- 
 sians, Suliotes, Moreotcs, and Western Greeks, 
 in front, and to bring up the rear, the tailor's 
 wife and her troop. Glorious Apollo ! no gene- 
 ral had ever before such an army." 
 
 Lord Byron had a black groom with him in 
 Greece, an American by birth, to whom he was 
 very partial*. He always insisted on this man's 
 calling him Massa, whenever he spoke to him. 
 On one occasion, the groom met with two wo- 
 men of his own complexion, who had been slaves 
 to the Turks and liberated, but had been left al- 
 most to starve when the Greeks had risen on their 
 tyrants. Being of the same colour was a bond of 
 sympathy between them and the groom, and he 
 applied to me to give both these women quarters 
 in the seraglio. I granted the application, and 
 mentioned it to Lord Byron, who laughed at 
 the gallantry of his groom, and ordered that he 
 should be brought before him at ten o'clock the 
 next day, to answer for his presumption in mak- 
 ing such an application. 
 
 At ten o'clock accordingly he attended his 
 master with great trembling and fear, but stut- 
 tered so when he attempted to speak, that he 
 could not make himself understood ; Lord Byron 
 endeavouring, almost in vain, to preserve his 
 
 * This man died in Londun a short time back. 
 
158 SENTENCE ON HIS BLACK GROOM. 
 
 gravity, reproved him severely for his presump- 
 tion. Blacky stuttered a thousand excuses, 
 and was ready to do any thing to appease his 
 massa's anger. His great yellow eyes wide 
 open, he tremhling from head to foot, his wan- 
 dering and stuttering excuses, his visible dread, 
 all tended to provoke laughter, and Lord Byron, 
 fearing his own dignity would be hove overboard, 
 told him to hold his tongue, and listen to his 
 sentence. I was commanded to enter it in his 
 memorandum book, and then he pronounced in 
 a solemn tone of voice, while blacky stood 
 aghast, expecting some severe punishment, the 
 following doom. " My determination is, that 
 the children born of these black women, of which 
 you may be the father, shall be my property, 
 and I will maintain them. What say you ?" 
 " Go — Go — God bless you, massa, may you live 
 great while," stuttered out the groom, and sal- 
 lied forth to tell the good news to the two dis- 
 tressed women. 
 
 Lord Byron was a remarkably sincere and 
 frank man, and harboured no thought concerning 
 another he did not express to him. Whatever 
 he had to say of or against any man, that he 
 said, on the first opportunity, openly, and to his 
 face. Neither could he bear concealment in 
 others. If one person were to speak of a third 
 party in his presence, he would be sure to repeat 
 
LORD byron's frankness. 159 
 
 it the first time the two opponents were in per- 
 sence of one another. This was a habit of which 
 his acquaintance were well aware, and it spared 
 Lord Byron the trouble of listening to a mob of 
 idle and degrading calumnies. He probably 
 expected by it, to teach others that sincerity he 
 prized so highly ; at the same time, he was not 
 insensible to pleasure, at seeing the confusion of 
 the party exposed. 
 
 This trait in his Lordship's character has been 
 mentioned by some of his biographers with dis- 
 praise, as a proof of weakness, and even trea- 
 chery. But I believe Lord Byron never betrayed 
 any confidence, he only exposed tattling calum- 
 niators, to prove or retract their accusations in 
 the presence of the party calumniated. Those 
 who have most complained of this trait, have 
 been insincere men, bred up in what are called 
 polite habits, which mainly consist in tell- 
 ing falsehoods to a man's face to flatter him, and 
 telling falsehoods behind his back, to make 
 him appear ridiculous ; such hollow fashionable 
 insincerity, Lord Byron delighted to expose. 
 Many such instances are not before the public, 
 because the individual dear Friends concerned 
 have not been very willing to let the world into 
 the secret of their friendships. They have been 
 contented with blaming this part of his Lord- 
 ship's character, and have wished it to be in- 
 
100 CONSEQUENCES. 
 
 ferred that he betrayed some confidence, while 
 he only exposed the hollowness of fashionable 
 lying, and the mutual insincerity and hatred of 
 some very dear, but pretended friends. 
 
 I may give an instance of this part of Lord By- 
 ron's character, in which I was implicated. At 
 the time, I confess, I was extremely indignant, 
 but I have since thought the proceeding was cal- 
 culated to effect tw T o admirable ends. To me, 
 were it in my nature to be prudent and discreet, it 
 might have taught caution and discretion. To 
 Prince Mavrocordato and the Greeks, it probably 
 conveyed a lesson, which Lord Byron could have 
 found no better means of giving them ; and were it 
 possible by teaching to make them energetic and 
 provident, it might have shewed them that these 
 were qualities in which, .according to the opinions 
 of others, they were deficient. 
 
 When the Turkish fleet was lying off Cape 
 Papa, blockading Missolonghi, I was one day 
 ordered by Lord Byron to accompany him to the 
 mouth of the harbour to inspect the fortifications, 
 in order to make a report on the state they 
 were in. He and I were in his own punt, a little 
 boat which he had, rowed by a boy ; and in a 
 large boat, accompanying us, were Prince Mavro- 
 cordato and his attendants. As I was viewing, 
 on one hand, the Turkish fleet attentively, and 
 reflecting on its powers, and our means of de- 
 
CENSURE OP MAVKOCORDATO. 1(51 
 
 fence ; and looking on the other, at Prince Mav- 
 rocordato and his attendants, perfectly uncon- 
 cerned, smoking their pipes and gossiping, as if 
 Greece were liberated and at peace, and Misso- 
 longhi in a state of complete security ; I could not 
 help giving vent to a feeling of contempt and in- 
 dignation. 
 
 " What is the matter," said his Lordship, ap- 
 pearing to be very serious, " what makes you so 
 angry, Parry V 
 
 " I am not angry, "I replied, "my Lord, but some- 
 what indignant. The Turks, if they were not the 
 most stupid wretches breathing, might take the 
 fort of Vasaladi, by means of two pinnaces, any 
 night they pleased ; they have only to approach it 
 with muffled oars, they will not be heard, I will 
 answer for their not being seen, and they may 
 storm it in a few minutes. With eight gun-boats 
 properly armed with 24-pounders, they might 
 batter both Missolonghi and Anatolica to the 
 ground. And there sits the old gentlewoman, 
 Prince Mavrocordato and his troop, to whom I 
 applied an epithet I will not here repeat, as if 
 they were all perfectly safe. They know their 
 means of defence are inadequate, and they have 
 no means of improving them. If I were in their 
 place, I should be in a fever at the thought of 
 my own incapacity and ignorance, and I should 
 burn with impatience to attempt the destruction 
 
 M 
 
162 LORD BYRON EXPOSES ME. 
 
 of those stupid Turkish rascals. The Greeks and 
 the Turks are opponents, worthy by their imbe- 
 cility, of each other.'' 
 
 I had scarcely explained myself fully, when 
 his Lordship ordered our boat to be placed along- 
 side the other, and actually related our whole 
 conversation to the Prince. In doing it however, 
 he took on himself the task of pacifying both the 
 Prince and me, and though I was at first very 
 angry, and the Prince I believe, very much an- 
 noyed, he succeeded. Mavrocordato afterwards 
 shewed no dissatisfaction with me, and I prized 
 Lord Byron's regard too much, to remain long 
 displeased with a proceeding which was only 
 an unpleasant manner of reproving us both. 
 
 Lord Byron was very fond of talking with me on 
 national character and national peculiarities, and 
 seemed, from the manner in which he combated 
 my English prejudices, — and which, I confess, are 
 very strong, for I love England, and am proud of 
 the name of an Englishman, — to delight in the 
 praises of his native land. Of Lord Byron's wri- 
 tings, and the sentiments expressed in them, I 
 give no opinion, but I am sure that, in his heart, 
 he was an Englishman, and warmly and deeply 
 attached to his country. In one of these conver- 
 sations, some of which are reported in another 
 place, I had maintained, that there were no other 
 people in the world, but Englishmen, whose eyes 
 
ANECDOTE OF TURKISH WOMEN, 163 
 
 ever filled with tears of sympathy at hearing a 
 well-told pathetic tale, or at witnessing distress. 
 Of course it pleased his Lordship to contend 
 against this opinion, and to say that he was an 
 Englishman, and quite unaccustomed to shed tears 
 on any such occasion. I told him I was sure of 
 the contrary, and that I should at some time or 
 other detect him w T eeping over distress he could 
 not relieve, or with pleasure at having relieved 
 it. My prediction was verified. 
 
 On one occasion he had saved twenty-four 
 Turkish women and children from slavery and 
 all its accompanying horrors. I was summoned to 
 attend him and receive his orders, that every 
 thing should be done which might contribute to 
 their comfort. He was seated on a cushion at 
 the upper end of the room, the women and 
 children w T ere standing before him, with their 
 eyes fixed steadily on him, and on his right 
 hand was his interpreter, who was extract- 
 ing from the women a narrative of their suffer- 
 ings. One of them, apparently about thirty 
 years of age, possessing great vivacity, and 
 whose manners and dress, though she was then 
 dirty and disfigured, indicated that she was su- 
 perior in rank and condition to her companions, 
 was spokeswoman for the whole. I admired the 
 good order the others preserved, never interfering 
 with the explanation or interrupting the single 
 
1G4« LORD BYRON'S STRONG FEELINGS. 
 
 speaker. I also admired the rapid manner in 
 which the interpreter explained every thing they 
 said, so as to make it almost appear that there 
 was but one speaker. 
 
 After a short time it was evident that what 
 Lord Byron was hearing affected his feelings, his 
 countenance changed, his colour went and came, 
 and I thought he was ready to weep. But he 
 had on all occasions a ready and peculiar knack 
 in turning conversation from any disagreeable or 
 unpleasant subject; and he had recourse to 
 this expedient. He rose up suddenly, and turn- 
 ing round on his heel, as was his wont, he said 
 something quickly to his interpreter, who im- 
 mediately repeated it to the women. All eyes 
 were instantly fixed on me, and one of the 
 party, a young and beautiful woman, spoke very 
 warmly. Lord Byron seemed satisfied, and said 
 they might retire. The women all slipped off 
 their shoes in an instant, and going up to his 
 Lordship, each in succession, accompanied by 
 their children, kissed his hand fervently, in- 
 voked, in the Turkish manner, a blessing both 
 on his head and heart, and then quitted the 
 room. This was too much for Lord Byron, and 
 he turned his face away to conceal his emotion. 
 When he had recovered a little, I reminded him 
 of our conversation, and I told him 1 had caught 
 him at last. Addressing me in the sort of sea 
 
KINDNESS OP A PEASANT. 165 
 
 slang I sometimes talked to him, and which he 
 liked to repeat, he replied. " You are right, old 
 boy; you have got me in the bunt — I am an 
 Englishman." 
 
 I afterwards understood, that when Lord 
 Byron had so suddenly changed the topic of 
 conversation, he made the interpreter tell the 
 females that I wanted to form a seraglio, and 
 was looking out for pretty women. The young 
 person I have mentioned, who seemed sensible 
 that she was most concerned in this, inquired 
 vehemently if I were a Greek, and protested if 
 I were, she would suffer instant death rather than 
 submit. Perhaps what Lord Byron said to these 
 unfortunate persons may appear somewhat un- 
 feeling to the reader. I shall however beg leave 
 to remind him of the Turkish mode of wooing, that 
 the phrase "forming a seraglio," is merely tanta- 
 mount " to taking a idfe," and that under ordinary 
 circumstances, a young Turkish female would pro- 
 bably hear it with the same sort of pleasure that 
 one of our fair countrywomen would learn that 
 a favourite swain was soliciting for the honour 
 of her hand. 
 
 Whether the following little anecdote may be 
 regarded as a proof of the respect in which Lord 
 Byron was held by the people, or only of the 
 natural kindness of the peasantry, I will not de- 
 
166 LORD BVRON'S DELIGHT. 
 
 cide; but as a mere specimen of their manner, it 
 seems worth mentioning. 
 
 He returned one day from his ride more than 
 usually pleased. An interesting countrywo- 
 man, with a fine family, had come out of her 
 cottage and presented him with a curd cheese 
 and some honey, and could not be persuaded to 
 accept of payment for it. " I have felt," he said, 
 " more pleasure this day, and at this circum- 
 stance, than for a long time past." Then de- 
 scribing to me where he had seen her, he or- 
 dered me to find her out, and make her a 
 present in return. " The peasantry," he said, 
 " are by far the most kind, humane, and honest 
 part of the population ; they redeem the cha- 
 racter of their countrymen. The other classes 
 are so debased by slavery ; accustomed, like all 
 slaves, never to speak truth, but only what will 
 please their masters, that they cannot be trusted. 
 Greece would not be worth saving but for the 
 peasantry." 
 
 Lord Byron then sat down to his cheese, and 
 insisted on our partaking of' his fare. A bottle 
 of porter was sent for and broached, that we 
 might join Byron in drinking health and happi- 
 ness to the kind family which had procured hiin 
 so great a pleasure. 
 
1G7 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 LORD BYRON'S OPINIONS AND INTENTIONS WITH 
 RESPECT TO GREECE. 
 
 His injunctions to speak the truth as to Greece — His anxiety not to be 
 instrumental in deluding the people of England — Claims the cause 
 of Greece has on our sympathy — Country and people of Greece — 
 Disadvantage of their character as insurgents — No plan or system 
 amongst them — What form of government they should adopt — A 
 federation of states — People give energy to government — Presidents 
 of the Greek government — Peasantry — Poverty and intelligence of 
 the Greeks — Greece might spread a revolution to Hindostan — Cha- 
 racter of the Greek chiefs — Lord Byron's final intentions as to 
 Greece— Purity of his ambition. 
 
 One of the sentiments constantly uppermost in 
 Lord Byron's mind, and affording decisive evi- 
 dence how deeply he felt his own disappoint- 
 ment, was caution in not lending himself to de- 
 ceive others. Over and over again did he, in our 
 conversations, dwell on the necessity of telling 
 the people of England the truth as to Greece ; 
 over and over again did he condemn the works 
 which had been published on the state of Greece. 
 Lying, hypocritical publications he was accus- 
 tomed to call them, deceiving both the Greeks 
 
168 LORD BYRON MAKES NO FALSE REPORTS. 
 
 and the English. To tell the truth on every thing 
 relating to Greece, was one of his most frequent 
 exhortations. It was liis opinion that without 
 English assistance, more particularly as to mo- 
 ney, the Greeks could not succeed ; and he 
 knew that if the English public were once im- 
 posed on to a considerable amount, no assistance 
 could afterwards be expected, and Greece would 
 either return under the Turkish yoke, fall un- 
 der the sceptre of some other barbarian Power, 
 or remain for many years the prey of discord and 
 anarchy. While the loan was negotiating, and 
 after it was contracted for, he frequently con- 
 gratulated himself that he had never Avritten a 
 single line to induce his countrymen to subscribe 
 to it ; and that they must hold him perfectly 
 guiltless, should they afterwards lose their mo- 
 ney, of having in any way contributed to delude 
 them. " I hope,'' he was accustomed to say, 
 " this government which has enough on its hands, 
 will behave so as not to injure its credit. I have 
 not in any way encouraged the people of Eng- 
 land to lend their money. I don't understand 
 loan-jobbing, and I should make a sorry appear- 
 ance in writing home lying reports*. 
 
 * This cautious conduct may perhaps excite some suspicions 
 in the mind of those who have suhscrihed to the Greek loan ; 
 or who are now holders of Greek bonds. Lord Byron, even 
 when his existence was of such material service in assisting 
 
CLAIMS OF GREECE. 169 
 
 Lord Byron undertook to instruct me in the 
 nature of Greek society, and his opinions being 
 intended to guide my conduct, on which his 
 own welfare, in some measure, depended, there 
 can be no doubt of his perfect sincerity. He, of 
 all modern English travellers, was probably the 
 best capable of giving a correct opinion on this 
 subject ; and what he said is therefore parti- 
 cularly deserving of attention. It is so much 
 opposed also to what might be expected from 
 the poet of Greece, so completely free from all 
 
 the Greeks, concluded, I suppose, that the chances for the pay- 
 ment either of the principal or the interest of the loan were 
 not great, and therefore he congratulated himself that he had 
 been in no wise instrumental in persuading, by any sort of 
 representations, the people of this country to lend their money 
 to the Greeks. Since Lord Byron's death, however, though 
 they have met with some terrible disasters, their government 
 seems to have triumphed over its domestic opponents, and to be 
 now more than ever in a fair way of uniting all the Greeks in 
 the pursuit of the one great object. The Turkish power also is 
 evidently growing weaker, and cannot sustain even against this 
 feeble opponent a protracted contest. When we see the ill- 
 organized state of Turkey, the anarchy of its councils, the dis- 
 content of its soldiers, and the rebellion of its chiefs, our won- 
 der is rather excited that so much time should have elapsed be- 
 fore the Greeks have completely achieved their independence, 
 than that they should have struggled so long. This is partly 
 explained by the division among their chiefs ; and by some cir- 
 cumstances, not to the honour of some individuals in our coun- 
 try, which will be adverted to subsequently. 
 
 I( l,K 0f 
 
170 COUNTRY AND POPULATION. 
 
 romance and delusion, that it was plainly the 
 dictate of close observation and mature reason. 
 
 " The cause of Greece," said Lord Byron, H na- 
 turally excites our sympathy. The very name of 
 the country is associated in our minds with all 
 that is exalted in virtue, or delightful in art. 
 From it we have derived our knowledge, and 
 under the guiding hand of its wisdom, did mo- 
 dern Europe make its first tottering and feeble 
 steps towards civilization. In every mind at 
 all embued with knowledge, she is regarded 
 with the affection of a parent. Her people are 
 Christians contending against Turks, and slaves 
 struggling to be free. There never was a cause 
 which, in this outline view of the matter, had 
 such strong and commanding claims on the 
 sympathy of the people of all Europe, and parti- 
 cularly of the people of England. But we must 
 not at the same time forget what is the present 
 state of the Greek population. 
 
 " We must not forget, though we speak of 
 Greece and the Greeks, that there is no distinct 
 country and no distinct people. There is no 
 country, except the Islands, with a strongly- 
 marked boundary separating it from other coun- 
 tries, either by physical properties, or by the 
 manners and language of the people which we can 
 properly call Greece. The boundaries of ancient 
 Greece are not the boundaries of modern Greece, 
 
GREEKS ARE INSURGENTS. 171 
 
 or of the countries inhabited by those to whom 
 we give the name of Greeks. The different 
 tribes of men, also, to whom we give this one 
 general name, seem to have little or nothing in 
 common more than the same faith and the same 
 hatred of the Turks, their oppressors. There is 
 the wily money-making Greek of the islands, 
 the debased, intriguing, and corrupted Greek of 
 the towns on the continent, and there is the 
 hardy Greek peasant, whose good qualities are 
 the redeeming virtues of the whole population. 
 Under their chiefs and primates, under their 
 captains and magistrates, they are now divided 
 by more local jealousies, and more local distinc- 
 tions, than in the days of their ancient glory, 
 when Greece had no enemies but Greeks. We 
 must not suppose under our name of Greeks, an 
 entire, united, and single people, kept apart from 
 all others by strongly-marked geographical or 
 moral distinctions. On the contrary, those who 
 are now contending for freedom are a mixed 
 race of various tribes of men, having different 
 apparent interests, and different opinions. Many 
 of them differ from and hate one another, more 
 even than they differ from and hate the Turks, 
 to whose maxims of government and manners 
 some of them, particularly the primates, are much 
 attached. It is quite erroneous, therefore, to 
 
172 INSURRECTION CAUSES DISSENSIONS. 
 
 suppose under the name of Greece, one country, 
 or under the name of Greeks, one people. 
 
 " The people whom we have come to assist have 
 also the name of insurgents, and however just 
 their cause, or enlightened their own view of the 
 principles on which they contend, they must and 
 will be considered by the government of Eu- 
 rope as insurgents, with all the disadvantages 
 belonging to the name, till they are com- 
 pletely successful. At the beginning of the 
 insurrection, all the Turks in authority and their 
 adherents were indiscriminately massacred, their 
 property plundered, and their power, where- 
 cver the insurrection was successful, annihi- 
 lated. Their places of worship were destroyed ; 
 the storks, a bird they reverence with a sort 
 of idolatry, were everywhere shot, that no re- 
 membrance except hatred of the Turkish name, 
 should exist in the country. Such acts are the 
 natural consequences of long-suffering, particu- 
 larly among men who have some traditional 
 knowledge of the high renown of their ances- 
 tors ; but they have not contributed to soften 
 the Greek character ; nor has the plunder of their 
 masters failed to sow for the time the seeds of 
 dissension and ambition among themselves. The 
 insurrection was literally a slave breaking his 
 chains on the head of his oppressor ; but in es- 
 
GOVERNMENT RECOMMENDED. 173 
 
 caping from bondage, the Greeks acted without a 
 plan. There was no system of insurrection organ- 
 ized, and the people, after the first flushing of their 
 hatred was over, were easily stirred up to ani- 
 mosity against each other, and they fell again 
 under the dominion of some ambitious chiefs, 
 who had before been either the soldiers or the 
 civil agents of the Pachas. They now want all 
 the energy and the unity derived from an or- 
 ganized system of government, taming some of 
 the passions and directing others to the public 
 good. Time will bring such a system ; for a 
 whole nation can profit by no other teacher. A 
 system of government must and will arise suitable 
 to the knowledge and the wants of the people, and 
 the relations which now exist among the differ- 
 ent classes of them. 
 
 " I do not mean to say that they are not to profit 
 by the experience of other people ; on the con- 
 trary I would have them acquire all the know- 
 ledge they can, but they cannot be a book- 
 learned people for ages ; — they cannot for ages 
 have that knowledge and that equality amongst 
 them which are found in Europe, and therefore 
 I would not recommend them to follow im- 
 plicitly any system of government now esta- 
 blished in the world, or to square their institu- 
 tions by the theoretical forms of any constitution. 
 I am still so much attached to the constitution 
 
174* FEDERATION OF STATES. 
 
 of England personally, that were it to be at- 
 tacked, — were any attempts made by any faction 
 or party at home to put down its ancient and 
 honourable aristocracy, I would be one of the 
 first to uphold their cause with my life and 
 fortune. At the same time I would not recom- 
 mend that constitution to another country. It 
 is the duty of every honourable man to assist 
 every nation and every individual, as far as he 
 can, in obtaining rational freedom, but before we 
 can do this we must know in what freedom consists. 
 " In the United States of America there is more 
 practical freedom, and a form of government both 
 abstractedly better and more suited to the situa- 
 tion of the Greeks than any other model I know 
 of. From what I have already said of the dif- 
 ferent interests and divisions which prevail in 
 Greece, it is to me plain that no other govern- 
 ment will suit it so well as a federation. I will 
 not say a federation of republics ; but a federa- 
 tion of states ; each of these states having that 
 particular form of government most suitable to 
 the present situation and wishes of its people. 
 There is no abstract form of government which 
 we can call good. I wont say with Pope, that 
 " whate'er is best administered is best ;" but I 
 will say, that every government derives its effi- 
 ciency as well as its power from the people. Des- 
 potism cannot exist where they are not sluggish, 
 
THE PRESIDENT. 175 
 
 inert, insensible to political rights, and careless 
 of any thing but animal enjoyment. Neither 
 can freedom flourish where they confide implicitly 
 in one class of men, and where they are not one 
 and all watchful to protect themselves, and pre- 
 vent both individual and general encroachment. 
 " In the Islands and on the Continent wealth 
 and power are very differently distributed, and 
 the governments are conducted on different prin- 
 ciples. It would be absurd, therefore, and per- 
 haps impossible, to give the islands and the con- 
 tinent the same sort of government. I say, there- 
 fore, the Grecian confederation must be one of 
 states, and not of republics. Any attempt of an 
 individual or of any one state to gain supremacy 
 will bring on civil war and destruction. At the 
 same time the federation might have a head like 
 the United States of America. Each state might 
 be represented in a congress, and a president 
 elected every four years in succession, from one 
 of the three or four great divisions of the whole 
 federation. The Morea might choose the first 
 president, the second might be elected by the 
 Islands, Western Greece might select the third, 
 and should Candia be united with Greece, which 
 is necessary for the permanent independence of 
 the whole, its inhabitants should in their turn 
 elect a fourth president. On some plan of this 
 kind a federation of the States of Greece might 
 
176 EFFECTS OF CIVILIZATION. 
 
 be formed, and it would be recommended to the 
 Greeks by bearing some faint resemblance to 
 the federation of their glorious ancestors ; but 
 any attempt to introduce one uniform system of 
 government in every part of the country, how- 
 ever excellent in principle, will only embroil the 
 different classes, generating anarchy, and ending 
 in slavery. 
 
 " No system of government in any part of 
 Greece can be permanent, which does not leave 
 in the hands of the peasantry the chief part of 
 the political power. They are warmly attached 
 to their country, and they are the best portion 
 of the people. Under a government in the least 
 degree equitable, they must increase rapidly 
 both in numbers and wealth ; and unless they 
 are now placed, in a political point of view, on an 
 equality with other classes, it will soon be 
 necessary to oppress them. They are not now 
 sensible of their own importance, but they soon 
 will be under a Greek government, and they 
 can only be retained in obedience by gaining 
 over their affections. 
 
 " Though the situation and climate of Greece 
 are admirable, it has been impossible for the 
 country to prosper under the yoke o the Turks. 
 Their idleness, ignorance, oppression, and hostility 
 to improvement, have nearly excluded the Greeks 
 from any participation in the general progress 
 
CHARACTER OF THE GREEK CHIEFS. 177 
 
 of civilization, Where they have had the least 
 opportunity of gaining either knowledge or 
 wealth, they have eagerly embraced it. The 
 inhabitants of the Islands are much better in- 
 formed than those of the continent, and they are 
 the most skilful as well as the boldest seamen, 
 and the most acute traders, to be found in the 
 whole course of the Mediterranean. The people 
 are naturally as intelligent as their ancestors, 
 but they have been debased and brutified by the 
 tyrannical government of the Turks. Now there 
 is some hope of their living under a better sys- 
 tem, they will soon become both industrious 
 and enterprising. Not only will they be more 
 happy and flourishing as a nation, but having 
 within them the elements of improvement, they 
 must increase in power as the Turkish empire de- 
 cays. There are numerous tribes in Asia connected 
 with them by language and manners ; which 
 would be incorporated with them in their pro- 
 gress, and they might extend European civiliza- 
 tion through the ancient empire of Cyrus and 
 Xerxes, till they again met on the borders of 
 Hindostan with those people who held out 
 to them the right hand of fellowship in their 
 first struggles for freedom and independence. 
 This is what Greece might do, wliat in fact she 
 formerly did. Not that I want to see the Greeks 
 
 gaining power by conquest, they have territory 
 
 N 
 
178 COLOCOTRONI ULYSSES. 
 
 enough; but, as I have said, the divisions among 
 her different, tribes, the want of unity in their 
 views, the discord of her chieftains, are now so 
 great that I am afraid all we can rationally hope for 
 is, that by dint of hard fighting against the Turks 
 in summer, and quarrelling among themselves in 
 winter, they may preserve a troublesome sort of 
 national independence till the Turkish empire 
 crumbles into ruins. They may then have a chance 
 of forming a distinguished province of some one of 
 those mighty European monarchies which seem 
 destined gradually to supplant the despotisms of 
 Asia with a more regular and milder despotism. 
 
 " The Greek chiefs taken collectively," said Lord 
 Byron, "are a very respectable body of men. With 
 one of them, Londa, I am particularly acquainted. 
 I stopped at his house for some time when I was 
 formerly in Greece, and he would not accept of a 
 ■para for the trouble and expense I put him to. He 
 presented me also with a very pretty horse at 
 my departure. (This I shall not forget). The 
 only chiefs who are particularly suspected of 
 ambitious views are Colocotroni and Ulysses. 
 Colocotroni, I am informed, was a captain in the 
 Greek light infantry in the Ionian Islands ; and 
 at the commencement of the Greek contest, went 
 over to the Morea with a number of adventurers. 
 Whilst there was Turkish property to plunder, 
 and whilst he could exact supplies from the poor 
 
OFFERS TO LORD BYRON. 179 
 
 peasantry, his force was respectably kept up. Of 
 himself he has taken good care, having forwarded 
 to the Islands, for his own private use, all the 
 plunder he has been able to amass. He is said 
 to have acquired great wealth. Except the power 
 this may give him, and it will keep him afloat for 
 some time, he will soon exhaust his resources. 
 The peasantry are now bare : he has swept their 
 houses cleaner than ever the Turks did ; and his 
 mercenary followers, finding they can get nothing 
 more under his standard, will soon leave him. 
 Mark my word, Napoli di Romania will soon be 
 evacuated by him ; and either the Greek cause 
 will not flourish, or he will fail. 
 
 ** Ulysses is suspected by the Greek government. 
 A short time back two messengers were sent to 
 him with orders from the government, and he put 
 them both to death. He has been a robber, and 
 was brought up in the service of Ali Pacha ; both 
 which circumstances excite suspicion. These 
 difficulties will probably be surmounted when the 
 government gets funds, for it is quite true in 
 Greece that he who has money has power. I have 
 experienced this since my arrival, and have had 
 offers * that would surprise you were I to tell 
 
 * I should have left this part of the subject in the obscurity 
 of the text, had I not seen it stated in the " London Maga- 
 zine," I think, that Lord Byron had a had motive for his exer- 
 tions in the cause of Greece. It is insinuated that he was ac- 
 
 N 2 
 
180 HIS UPRIGHTNESS. 
 
 you of them, and which would turn the head of any 
 man less satiated than I am, and more desirous 
 of possessing power than of contributing to free- 
 dom and happiness. 
 
 " To all these offers, and to every application 
 
 tuated by the vulgar ambition of a conqueror, and wished 
 to be something like a king in Greece. No insinuation was 
 ever more unfounded. He had offers of this kind made to 
 him, but he refused. With his pecuniary resources, such is 
 the mercenary disposition of the Greeks, it was, I am persuaded, 
 only necessary for him to have devoted his fortune to the pur- 
 pose, and he could have formed an army that would have in- 
 corporated in it all that was brave and ambitious in Greece. 
 No single chieftain could have resisted ; and all of them would 
 have been obliged, because they could not trust one another, to 
 join their forces with his. The whole of the Suliotes were 
 completely at his beck. He could have commanded and pro- 
 cured the assassination of any man in Greece for a sum too 
 trifling to mention. The task would have been full of danger 
 undoubtedly, but what attempt to gain such power is not ? It 
 was not however beyond his abilities, had his inclination inclined 
 him to undertake it. He was too certain of commanding the 
 respect of mankind by his admirable talents, to hunt after 
 their admiration by any kind of vulgar atrocity. He never 
 wished to possess political power in Greece, though he fought 
 for her freedom ; and he might have been the head man of the 
 country, had he chosen to oppose the government. 
 
 That he was sensible of his power is quite evident from what 
 he frequently said to me. " Any man who had money," he said, 
 " may arrogate consequence to himself. What prevents me, if 
 I were so minded, from forming a large military force in Greece. 
 I might send to England and procure a set of veteran practical 
 non-commissioned officers and practical mechanics, by whose 
 
ADVICE TO THE GOVERNMENT. 181 
 
 made to me, which had a tendency to provoke 
 disputes or increase discord, I have always re- 
 plied, I came here to serve Greece ; agree among 
 yourselves for the good of your country, and 
 whatever is your united resolve, and whatever 
 the government commands, I shall be ready to 
 support with my fortune and my sword. I am 
 here to act against the external enemies and ty- 
 rants of Greece and will not take part with any 
 faction in the country. We who come here to 
 fight for Greece have no right to meddle with its 
 internal affairs, or dictate to the people and go- 
 vernment; since I have been here, I have seen and 
 felt quite enough to try the temper of any man, but 
 I will remain here, while there is a gleam of hope. 
 " Much is expected from the loan, and I know 
 that without money it is impossible to succeed, but 
 I am apprehensive this foreign assistance will be 
 looked on by each of the chiefs, as a prize to be 
 obtained by contention, and may lead to a civil 
 
 means, and ray own resources, I could set many things in 
 motion. If 1 had only men to teach the Greeks some of the 
 necessary arts, and were ahle to supply their want of warlike 
 stores, I could find plenty of men ; and an army might be at 
 my command. The fortifications I could repair so as to make 
 them secure against all attacks. The navy I could set afloat, 
 and if I liked, have my own way in Greece ; but I repeat I 
 came here to serve the Greeks on their own conditions and in 
 their own way, and I will not swerve while life remains from 
 this intention." 
 
182 MR. CANNING AND GREECE. 
 
 war. The government, which has contracted for 
 the loan, looks with no favourable eye on Colo- 
 cotroni and Ulysses, and yet they are, probably, 
 two of the bravest and most skilful of the military 
 chieftains. I have advised Mavrocordato to re- 
 commend the government to supply these chiefs 
 with money, but to keep them as short as possi- 
 ble. I have also recommended him, and if this 
 advice is followed, much good may be effected, 
 immediately on the receipt of the loan, to pay up 
 the arrears of the troops, particularly of the Suli- 
 otes, and to take care that their families are pro- 
 vided for. They are the best mountain-soldiers 
 in Greece, and perhaps in the world ; but they 
 are without a country, and without a home. I 
 know that an offer has been made, to restore them 
 to their former country, if they will forsake the 
 Greek cause, and I see no means of firmly at- 
 taching them to it, but to pay them regularly, 
 and, by providing for their families, to secure 
 hostages for their continued services. 
 
 " Mr. Canning may do much for Greece ; I hope 
 he will continue in office. He is a clever man, 
 and has an opportunity beyond all his predeces- 
 sors, of effecting great things. The ball is at his 
 feet, but he must keep a high hand, and neither 
 swerve to the right nor left. South America will 
 give him an opportunity of acting on sound prin- 
 ciples; on this point he will not be shackled. The 
 
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. 183 
 
 great mechanical power of England, her vast in- 
 genuity, gives him the control of the world ; 
 but the very existence of England's superiority 
 hangs on the balance of his decision. This mi- 
 nister bears all the responsibility. With respect 
 to Greece it is different. The Turkish empire is 
 our barrier against the power of Russia. The 
 Greeks, should they gain their independence, 
 will have quite sufficient territory in the Morea, 
 Western Greece, and the islands. 
 
 " It will take a century to come, to change their 
 character. Canning I have no doubt will pro- 
 ceed with caution — he can act strictly honourable 
 to the Turks. I have no enmity to the Turks 
 individually, they are quite as good as the Greeks ; 
 I am displeased to hear them called barbarians. 
 They are charitable to the poor, and very humane 
 to animals ; their curse, is the system of their go- 
 vernment, and their religion or superstition. 
 
 " I hope England will keep possession of the 
 Ionian Islands ; with them and Malta, she may 
 preserve her naval superiority for ages to come.'' 
 
 As the advances which Lord Byron had made 
 to the Greeks were to be paid out of the loan, he 
 was on this account also anxious that the money 
 might arrive ; otherwise his own resources and 
 his own projects would be crippled. When the 
 money arrived, he would be at liberty, he said, 
 to follow his own plains. He could obtain what 
 
184 
 
 INTENDS TO GO TO AMERICA. 
 
 supplies he pleased from Ancona, and then with 
 his own brigade, the Suliotes, and the force to 
 be put under his orders, we should be fully com- 
 petent to invest Lepanto, and take both it and 
 Patrass. " This shall be my first object," he said, 
 " at the beginning of the campaign ; Patrass and 
 Lepanto being in our possession, the Morea will 
 be secure, and we may think of more offensive 
 warfare." For this particular service, his own 
 brigade was to be ready, as I have already stated, 
 by May 7th. 
 
 " My future intentions, as to Greece may be 
 explained in a few words; I will remain here, till 
 she is secure against the Turks, or till she has 
 fallen under their power. All my income shall 
 be spent in her service, but unless driven by some 
 great necessity, I will not touch a farthing of the 
 sum intended for my sister's children. Whatever 
 I can accomplish with my income, and my per- 
 sonal exertions, shall be cheerfully done. When 
 Greece is secure against external enemies, I will 
 leave the Greeks to settle their government as they 
 like. One service more, and an eminent service 
 it will be, I think I may perform for them. You 
 shall have a schooner built for me, or I will buy 
 a vessel ; the Greeks shall invest me with the 
 character of their ambassador or agent ; I will go 
 to the United States, and procure that free and 
 enlightened government, to set the example of 
 
rURITY OF HIS AMBITION. 185 
 
 recognising the Federation of Greece, as an in- 
 dependent state. This done, England must fol- 
 low the example, and then the fate of Greece 
 will be permanently fixed, and she will enter 
 into all her rights, as a member of the great 
 commonwealth of Christian Europe." 
 
 This was Lord Byron's hope, and this was to 
 be his last project in favour of Greece. Nothing, 
 I think, within the power of an individual to ac- 
 complish, could be better conceived, or would 
 have tended more to the advantage of Greece, 
 than this simple and noble plan. Into it no mo- 
 tive of personal ambition entered, more than that 
 just and proper one, the basis of all virtue and 
 the distinguished characteristic of an honourable 
 mind ; the hope of gaining the approbation of 
 good men. As an author, he had already at- 
 tained the pinnacle of popularity and of fame ; 
 but this did not satisfy his noble ambition. He 
 hastened to Greece, with a devotion to liberty, 
 and a zeal in favour of the oppressed, as pure as 
 ever shone in the bosom of a knight, in the purest 
 days of chivalry, to gain the reputation of an un- 
 sullied warrior, and of a disinterested statesman. 
 He was her unpaid, but the blessings of all Greece, 
 and the high honours his own countrymen be- 
 stow on his memory, bearing him in their hearts, 
 prove that he was not her unrewarded, champion. 
 
186 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 LORD BYRON'S OPINIONS. 
 
 Of the Greek Committee— Mr. Blaquiere— Honorary Secretary Bow- 
 ring — Colonel Stanhope — Mr. Gordon — Suhjects for Don Juan — I 
 Opinion of Missolonghi — Sir Francis Burdett — Patriotic Committees 
 — Mr. Bentham's Cruise — Author's Introduction to him — His break- 
 fast and dinner hour — Source of a mistake — Adventures with him — 
 Byron a Carbonaro — A reverend opponent of Lord Byron — His de- 
 testation of hypocrites — Favourable opinion of mechanics — Mode of 
 welcoming him at Anatolica — His opinions on religion — Or forms of 
 government— The United States of America — Belief in ghosts and 
 presentiments — Anecdote of the late Queen — His opinion of mar- 
 riage—Of Lord Byron— Mr. Southey— Sir Walter Scott — Mr. 
 Cooke the actor. 
 
 In the present chapter, I shall set down what 
 I recollect of Lord Byron's opinions, as to his 
 coadjutors, the Greek committee, of Sir Francis 
 Burdett, of Mr. Bentham, and of some other per- 
 sons and things. 
 
 The Greek committee have a great plenty of 
 defenders, and may well despise one voice lifted 
 up against them. Among them, there are poets, 
 orators, and authors. The press seems listed in 
 their service, and they will scarcely regard 
 one feeble note of dispraise. The voice that 
 might, if energetically raised, have carried fear 
 
GREEK COMMITTEE. 187 
 
 and contrition to their hearts, lies hushed in 
 death, and I can only echo some of its faintest 
 tones. 
 
 In discussing the merits of Mr. Gordon's offer, 
 which was rather a favourite topic of Lord By- 
 ron's conversation, he asked, which I of course 
 could not answer, though the committee may, — ' 
 Had circulars been sent to the different noble- 
 men, and gentlemen who had subscribed? Had 
 they been informed of that offer, and told, that 
 the committee, for want of a little increase of 
 means, could not accept it. This was an affair, 
 he said, he would like to sift to the bottom. " I 
 conceive," he added, " that I have been already 
 grossly ill-treated by the committee. In Italy, 
 Mr. Blaquiere, their agent, informed me that every 
 requisite supply would be forwarded with all 
 dispatch. I was disposed to come to Greece, but 
 I hastened my departure, in consequence of ear- 
 nest solicitations. No time was to be lost, I was 
 told, and Mr. Blaquiere instead of waiting on me, 
 at his return from Greece, left a paltry note, 
 which gave me no information whatever. If I 
 ever meet with him, I shall not fail to mention 
 my surprise at his conduct ; but it has been all 
 of a piece. I wish the acting committee had had 
 some of the trouble which has fallen on me, since 
 my arrival here ; they would have been more 
 prompt in their proceedings, and would have 
 
188 
 
 MR. ROWRING. 
 
 known better what the country stood in need of. 
 They would not have delayed the supplies a day, 
 and they would not have sent out German offi- 
 cers, poor fellows, to starve at Missolonghi, but 
 for my assistance. I am a plain man, and cannot 
 comprehend the use of printing presses to a peo- 
 ple who do not read. Here, the committee have 
 sent supplies of maps, I suppose, that I may 
 teach the young mountaineers geography. Here 
 are bugle-horns, without bugle-men, and it is a 
 chance if we can find any body in Greece to 
 blow them. Books are sent to a people who 
 want guns ; they ask for a sword, and the Com- 
 mittee give them the lever of a printing press. 
 Heavens! one would think the Committee meant 
 to inculcate patience and submission, and to con- 
 demn resistance. Some materials for constructing 
 fortifications they have sent, but they have chosen 
 their people so ill, that the work is deserted, and 
 not one para have they sent to procure other la- 
 bourers, 
 
 " Their secretary, Mr. Bowring, was disposed I 
 believe, to claim the privileges of an acquaintance 
 with me. He wrote me a long letter, about the 
 classic land of freedom, the birth-place of the 
 arts, the cradle of genius, the habitation of the 
 gods, the heaven of poets, and a great many 
 such fine things. I was obliged to answer him, 
 and I scrawled some nonsense in reply to his 
 
COLONEL STANHOPE. 189 
 
 nonsense ; bnt I fancy I shall get no more such 
 epistles. When I came to the conclusion of the 
 poetry part of my letter, I wrote, ' so much for 
 blarney, now for business.' I have not since 
 heard in the same strain from Mr. Bowling. 
 
 " Here too is the chief agent of the Committee, 
 Colonel Stanhope, organizing the whole country. 
 He leaves nothing untouched, from the general 
 government, to the schools for children. He has a 
 plan for organizing the military force, for esta- 
 blishing posts, for regulating the administration 
 of justice, for making Mr. Bentham the apostle of 
 the Greeks, and for whipping little boys, in the 
 newest and most approved mode. He is for do- 
 ing all this, without a reference to any body, or 
 any thing ; complains bitterly of a want of practi- 
 cal statesmen in Greece, and would be glad I be- 
 lieve, to import a large supply of Mr, Bentham's 
 books, and scholars. Mavrocordato he openly 
 beards, as if the Prince knew nothing of Greece, 
 and was quite incapable of forming a correct opi- 
 nion of its interests. At the same time, he has no 
 funds to carry all his projects into execution. He is 
 a mere schemer and talker, more of a saint than 
 a soldier; and with a great deal of pretended 
 plainness, a mere politician, and no patriot. 
 
 " His printer and publisher, Dr. Meyler, is a 
 German adventurer, who is quite in a rage with 
 the quakers, for sending medicines to Greece. He 
 
190 COLONEL STANHOPES PLANS, 
 
 knows nothing of cither the Greek or the English 
 language ; and if he did, who would buy his 
 paper? The Greeks have no money, and will not 
 read newspapers for ages to come. There is no 
 communication with different parts of the coun- 
 try ; there is no means of receiving any news ; 
 and no means of sending it, when got. Stanhope 
 begins at the wrong end, and from observing that, 
 in our wealthy and civilized country, rapid com- 
 munication is one means of improvement, he 
 wants to establish posts — mail-carts, I believe is 
 his object, among a people who have no food. 
 Communication, though a cause of increased 
 wealth and increased civilization, is the result 
 of a certain degree of both ; and he would have 
 it without the means. He is like all political 
 jobbers, who mistake the accessories of civili- 
 zation for its cause ; they think if they only 
 hoist the colours of freedom, they will immedi- 
 ately transform a crazy water-logged bark into 
 a proud man-of-war. Stanhope, I believe, wants 
 discussion in Greece — pure abstract discus- 
 sion ; as if he were ignorant, that in a country 
 where there are one hundred times as many read- 
 ders, proportionably, as in Greece, where the peo- 
 ple have been readers of newspapers for a century, 
 and read them every day, they care nothing 
 about his favourite discussion, and will not listen 
 either to Mr. Bentham's, or any other person's 
 
COLONEL STANHOPE'S PLANS. 191 
 
 logic. I have subscribed to his paper, to get rid 
 of Stanhope's importunities, and it may be, keep 
 Gamba out of mischief* ; at any rate he can mar 
 nothing of less importance. 
 
 " I thought Colonel Stanhope, being a soldier, 
 would have shewn himself differently. He ought 
 to know what a nation like Greece needs for its 
 defence, and being on the acting committee, he 
 should have told them that arms, and the mate- 
 rials for carrying on war, were what the Greeks 
 required. The country once cleared of the ene- 
 my, the land would be cultivated, commerce 
 would increase, and if a good government 
 were established, knowledge and improvement of 
 every kind, even including a multitude of jour- 
 nals, would speedily follow. But Stanhope, I repeat, 
 is beginning at the wrong end, and expects by 
 introducing some of the signs of wealth and know- 
 ledge, to make the people rich and intelligent. 
 He might as well expect to give them the opu- 
 lence of London, by establishing a Long's Hotel 
 in this swamp ; or to make the women adopt 
 
 * Lord Byron had a curious opinion of this young nobleman, 
 which I must mention to explain this passage ; he thought him 
 destined to he unfortunate, and that he was one of those per- 
 sons with whom every thing goes wrong. According to Lord 
 Byron's view, he could not encourage him to engage in any 
 thing, ruining which would he so little prejudicial as the news- 
 paper. 
 
192 MR. GORDON. 
 
 all our fashions, by setting up a man milliner's 
 shop. 
 
 " Gordon was a much wiser and more practical 
 man than Stanhope. Stanhope has brought with 
 him Nabob airs from Hindostan ; and while he 
 cajoles the people, wishes to govern them. He 
 would be delighted, could he become administra- 
 tor of the revenue, or resident at the court of the 
 Greek republic. Gordon has been in Greece, and 
 expended a large sum of money here. He bought 
 his experience, and knows the country. His plan 
 was the one to have acted on ; but his noble 
 offer seems so far to have surpassed the notions 
 and expectations of the Committee, that it stag- 
 gered them. They had done nothing like it, and 
 could not credit this generosity and enthusiasm in 
 another. All their deeds have been only talk and 
 foolery. Had their whole property been at stake 
 in Greece, they would have shewn more zeal. 
 Mr. Gordons offer would have been promptly 
 acceded to; we should have had by this time, an 
 army regularly organized of three thousand men, 
 Lepanto would have been taken, and Greece se- 
 cured. Well, well, I'll have my revenge: talk of 
 subjects for Don Juan, this Greek business, its 
 disasters and mismanagement, have furnished me 
 with matter for a hundred cantos. Jeremy Ben- 
 tliam and his scholar, Colonel Stanhope, shall be 
 two of mv heroes. 
 
DON JUAN MISSOLONGHI. 1 93 
 
 " I do not intend to write till next winter; then 
 I may possibly finish another Canto. There will 
 be both comedy and tragedy ; my good country- 
 men supply the former, and Greece the latter. In 
 one week, I have been in a fit : the troops mu- 
 tined — a Turkish brig burned — Sass killed — an 
 earthquake — thunder, lightning, and torrents of 
 rain — such a week I never witnessed. I shall 
 tire them all with Juan's pranks. 
 
 " My situation here," he was accustomed to say, 
 " is unbearable. A town without any resources, 
 and a government without money ; imprisoned by 
 the floods, unable to take any exercise, pestered 
 by demands, without the means of satisfying them 
 or doing any thing either to relieve them, or my- 
 self, I must have left this hole, had you not 
 arrived. I may now do something. Missolonghi 
 and Anatolica are the keys of Western Greece, 
 and protect the Morea on the side of Albania. 
 If Mr. Gordon's offer had been acted on, as it 
 ought to have been, you would have been here 
 four months sooner. His exertions and mine 
 would have effected every thing, would have re- 
 stored union here, and have encouraged the 
 friends of Greece at home. But instead of an 
 efficient expedition, there came out a few English 
 and German adventurers, a few stores, and mu- 
 sical instruments." 
 
 This subject always excited a considerable de- 
 
 o 
 
194< SIR FRANCIS BURDETT. 
 
 gree of irritation in his mind, and getting up, he 
 stamped with his foot, shewing how much he was 
 vexed. 
 
 " Sir Francis Burdett," he said, " I am sure, 
 can know nothing of what is going on. I shall 
 always respect Sir Francis ; I am told he does not 
 trouble himself so much as formerly about politics. 
 I am srlad of it ; it has cost him enormous sums 
 of money, and he has experienced ingrati- 
 tude enough, to teach him to be quiet. He is the 
 firm friend of liberty, on constitutional principles, 
 and is highly respected by the first men of England, 
 belonging to both parties. He is one of the old 
 school, and a man I shall always esteem and honour. 
 You'll never find him, or such men as he is, step- 
 ping into the office of chairman, auditor, or 
 cashier, by means of petty contributions. He 
 does not provide for his family and dependents 
 by thrusting them into offices, while he covers 
 his attacks on the public purse by the cloak of 
 patriotism. Men who do this are the worst of 
 hypocrites, the most cursed race in existence. 
 I know them well, and know what stuff your com- 
 mittees, and such patriotic bodies, are made of. 
 Honorary secretaries, bankers to the cause they 
 pretend to serve. They should call themselves 
 pecuniary, and then terms would have their pro- 
 per meaning." 
 
 Lord Byron asked me, in the course of my con- 
 
MR. RENTHAM. 195 
 
 versations, did I know Mr. Bentham ? I said I had 
 seen him previously to my leaving England, that 
 he had invited me to dine with him, and had been 
 with me to see the preparations for the expedi- 
 tion. He had behaved very civilly to me, I said* 
 but I thought him a little flighty. Lord Byron 
 eagerly asked me in what way, and I told him. 
 At hearing my account, his Lordship laughed 
 most immoderately, and made me repeat it over 
 and over again. He declared, when he had fished 
 Out every little circumstance, he would not have 
 lost it for a thousand guineas. I shall here re- 
 late this little occurrence, not out of any disre. 
 spect to Mr. Bentham, but because he is a great 
 man, and the world are very fond of hearing of 
 great men. Moreover, Lord Byron has been 
 somewhat censured, chiefly, I think, for not having 
 a most profound respect for Mr. Bentham ; and the 
 following little story goes at least to prove, that 
 some of this philosopher's peculiarities might 
 very naturally excite the laughter of the poet. 
 Mr. Bentham is said also to have a great wish 
 for celebrity, and he will not therefore be dis- 
 pleased, by my sounding another note to his 
 fame, which may, perchance, convey it where it 
 has not yet reached. 
 
 Shortly before I left London for Greece, Mr. 
 Bowring, the honorary secretary to the Greek 
 committee informed me, that Mr. Jeremy Bcn- 
 
 2 
 
196 MY VISIT TO MR. BENTHAM. 
 
 tham wished to see the stores and materials, pre- 
 paring for the Greeks, and that he had done me 
 the honour of asking me to breakfast with him 
 some day, that I might afterwards conduct him 
 to see the guns, fyc. 
 
 " Who the devil is Mr. Bentham ?" was my rough 
 reply, " I never heard of him before." Many of 
 my readers may still be in the same state of 
 ignorance, and it will be acceptable to them, 
 I hope, to hear of the philosopher. 
 
 " Mr. Bentham," said Mr. Bowring, " is one 
 of the greatest men of the age, and for the honour 
 now offered to you, I waited impatiently many a 
 long day ; I believe for more than two years." 
 
 " Great or little, I never heard of him before ; 
 but if he wants to see me, why I'll go." 
 
 It was accordingly arranged, that I should visit 
 Mr. Bentham, and that Mr. Bowring should see 
 him to fix the time, and then inform me. In a 
 day or two afterwards, I received a note from the 
 honorary secretary, to say I was to breakfast with 
 Mr. Bentham on Saturday. It happened that I 
 lived at a distance from town, and having heard 
 something of the primitive manner of living, and 
 early hours of philosophers, I arranged with my 
 wife over-night, that I would get up very early on 
 the Saturday morning, that I might not keep Mr. 
 Bentham waiting. Accordingly, I rose with the 
 dawn, dressed myself in haste, and brushed off for 
 
HIS EXTRAORDINAY HABITS. 197 
 
 Qucen's-square, Westminster, as hard as my legs 
 could carry me. On reaching the Strand, fearing 
 I might be late, being rather corpulent, and not 
 being willing to go into the presence of so very 
 great a man, as I understood Mr. Jeremy Bentham 
 to be, puffing and blowing, I took a hackney coach, 
 and drove up to his door about eight o'clock. I 
 found a servant girl a-foot, and told her I came to 
 breakfast with Mr. Bentham by appointment. 
 
 She ushered me in, and introduced me to 
 two young men, who looked no more like phi- 
 losophers, however, than my own children. I 
 thought" they might be Mr. Bentham's sons, but 
 this I understood was a mistake. I shewed them 
 the note I had received from Mr. Bowring, and 
 they told me Mr. Bentham did not breakfast till 
 three o'clock. This surprised me much, but 
 they told me I might breakfast with them, which 
 I did, though I was not much flattered by the 
 honour of setting down with Mr. Bentham's 
 clerks, when I was invited by their master. 
 Poor Mr. Bowring, thought I, he must be a 
 meek spirited young man if it was for this he 
 waited so impatiently. 
 
 I supposed the philosopher himself did not 
 get up till noon, as he did not breakfast till so 
 late, but in this I was also mistaken. About 
 ten o'clock I was summoned to his presence, and 
 mustered up all my courage, and all my ideas for 
 the meeting. His appearance struck me forcibly. 
 
198 MR. bentham's appearance. 
 
 His white thin locks cut straight in the fashion 
 of the quake rs, and hanging or rather floating 
 on his shoulders ; his garments something of their 
 colour and cut, and his frame rather square and 
 muscular, with no exuberance of flesh, made up 
 a singular looking and not an inelegant old man. 
 He welcomed me with a few hurried words, but 
 without any ceremony, and then conducted me 
 into several rooms to shew me his ammunition 
 and materials of war. One very large room was 
 nearly filled with books ; and another with un- 
 bound works, which, I understood, were the phi- 
 losopher's own composition. The former he said 
 furnished him his supplies ; and there was a great 
 deal of labour required to read so many volumes. 
 
 I said inadvertently, t( I suppose you have 
 quite forgotten what is said in the first before 
 you read the last." Mr. Bentham however took 
 this in good part, and taking hold of my arm, 
 said we would proceed on our journey. Ac- 
 cordingly off we set, accompanied by one of his 
 young men carrying a portfolio, to keep, I sup- 
 pose, a log of our proceedings. 
 
 We went through a small garden, and passing 
 out of a gate, I found we were in Saint James's 
 Park. Here I noticed that Mr. Bentham had a 
 very snug dwelling, with many accommodations, 
 and such a garden as belongs in London only to 
 the first nobility. But {'or his neighbours, I thought, 
 for he has a barrack of soldiers on one side 
 
HIS STRANGE BEHAVIOUR. 199 
 
 of his premises, I should envy him his garden 
 more than his great reputation. On looking at 
 him, I could but admire his hale and even vene 
 rable appearance. I understood he was seventy- 
 three years of age, and therefore I concluded 
 we should have a quiet comfortable walk. Very 
 much to my surprise, however, we had scarcely 
 got into the Park, when he let go my arm, and 
 set off trotting like a Highland messenger. The 
 Park was crowded, and the people, one and all, 
 seemed to stare at the old man ; but heedless of 
 all this he trotted on, his white locks floating in 
 the wind, as if he were not seen by a single 
 human being. 
 
 As soon as I could recover from my surprise, I 
 asked the young man, " Is Mr. Bentham flighty," 
 pointing to my head. " Oh no, it's his way," 
 was the hurried answer, " he thinks it good for 
 his health, but I must run after him," and offset 
 the youth in chace of the philosopher. I must 
 not lose my companions, thought I, and off I se 
 also. Of course the eyes of every human being 
 in the Park were fixed on the running veteran and 
 his pursuers. There was Jerry a-head, then came 
 his clerk and his portfolio, and I being a heavier 
 sailer than either, was bringing up the rear. 
 
 What the people might think, I don't know, but 
 it seemed to me a very strange scene, and I was 
 not much delighted at being made such an object 
 
200 A TROTTING MATCH. 
 
 of attraction. Mr. Bentham's activity surprised 
 me, and I never overtook him or came near him 
 till we reached the Horse Guards, where his speed 
 was checked by the Blues drawn up in array. 
 Here we threaded in amongst horses and men till 
 we escaped at the other gate into Whitehall. I now 
 thought the crowded streets would prevent any 
 more racing; but several times he escaped from 
 us, and trotted off, compelling us to trot after him 
 till we reached Mr. Galloway's manufactory in 
 Smithlield. Here he exulted in his activity, and 
 inquired particularly if I had ever seen a man at 
 his time of life so active. I could not possibly 
 answer, no, while I was almost breathless with the 
 exertion of following him through the crowded 
 streets. 
 
 After seeing at Mr. Galloway's manufactory, 
 not only the things which had been prepared for 
 the Greeks, but his other engines and machines, 
 we proceeded to another manufactory at the foot 
 of South wark bridge, where our brigade of guns 
 stood ready mounted. When Mr. Bentham had 
 satisfied his curiosity here also, and I had given 
 him every information in my power, we set off to 
 return to his house, that he might breakfast ; I en- 
 deavoured to persuade him to take a hackney- 
 coach, but in vain. W^e got on tolerably well, 
 and without any adventures, tragical or comical, 
 till we arrived at Fleet-street. We crossed from 
 
ADVENTURE IN FLEET-STREET. 201 
 
 Fleet Market over towards Mr. Waithman's shop, 
 and here, letting go my arm, he quitted the foot 
 pavement, and set off again in one of his vagaries 
 up Fleet-street.His clerk again set offafter him,and 
 I again followed. The race here excited universal 
 attention. The perambulating ladies, who are 
 always in great numbers about that part of the 
 town, and ready to laugh at any kind of oddity, 
 and catch hold of every simpleton, stood and stared 
 at or followed the venerable philosopher. One 
 of them, well known to all the neighbourhood, by 
 the appellation of the City barge, given to her on 
 account of her extraordinary bulk, was coming with 
 a consort full sail down Fleet-street, but whenever 
 they saw the flight of Mr. Jeremy Bentham, they 
 hove too, tacked, and followed to witness the fun 
 or share the prize. I was heartily ashamed of par- 
 ticipating in this scene, and supposed that every 
 body would take me for a mad doctor, the young 
 man for my assistant, and Mr. Bentham for my 
 patient, just broke adrift from his keepers. 
 
 Fortunately the chase did not continue long. 
 Mr. Bentham hove too abreast of Carlisle's shop, 
 and stood for a little time to admire the books and 
 portraits hanging in the window. At length one 
 of them arrested his attention more particularly. 
 " Ah, ah," said he, in a hurried indistinct tone, 
 " there it is, there it is," pointing to a portrait 
 
202 MR. BENTHAM's CRUISE. 
 
 which I afterwards found was that of the illustrious 
 Jeremy himself. i 
 
 Soon after this, I invented an excuse to quit Mr. 
 Bentham and his man, promising to go to Queen- 
 square to dine. I was not, however, to be again 
 taken in by the philosopher's meal hours ; so, lay- 
 ing in a stock of provisions, I went at his dining 
 hour, half-past ten o'clock, and supped with him. 
 We had a great deal of conversation, particularly 
 about mechanical subjects, and the art of war. I 
 found the old gentleman as lively with his tongue 
 as with his feet, and passed a very pleasant even- 
 ing ; which ended by my pointing out, at his re- 
 quest, a plan for playing his organ by the steam of 
 his tea-kettle. This little history gave Lord Byron 
 a great deal of pleasure ; he very often laughed as 
 I told it ; he laughed much at its conclusion, and 
 he frequently bade me repeat what he called 
 Jerry Bentham's Cruise. 
 
 In the course of the conversation at Mr. Ben- 
 tham's, he enquired of me if I had ever visited 
 Americain my travels ?— I said, Yes, I had resided 
 there for some time. — Have you read Miss Wright's 
 book on that country?— Yes. — What do you think 
 of it ; does it give a good description of America? 
 Here I committed another fault. " She knows no 
 more of America," I replied, " than a cow does of 
 a case of instruments," Such a reply was a com- 
 
MY UNFORTUNANE IGNORANCE. 203 
 
 plete damper to Mr. Bentham's eloquence on the 
 subject. No two men could well be more opposed 
 to each other than we were, and our whole conver- 
 sation consisted in this sort of cross-firing. Opposi- 
 tion appeared to be something Mr. Bentham was 
 not accustomed to, and my blunt manner gave it 
 still more the zest of novelty. He laughed and ram- 
 bled to some other subject, to get another such a 
 damper. In my talk there was much want of 
 knowledge and of tact. No man, acquainted with 
 party feelings, or with that sort of minor literary 
 history, which is so much the topic of conversa- 
 tion, I am told, among literary people, could have 
 been guilty of my blunder. He would have known 
 that Miss Wright spoke what Mr.Jeremy Bentham 
 and his friends wished to be true, and that she was 
 in an especial manner a favourite of his. It was 
 not till I was informed of these things, by Lord 
 Byron I believe, that I discovered how very rude I 
 had been, and how much reason Mr. Bentham 
 would have to find fault with my want of manners. 
 " What do they say of my politics in England V* 
 was a question Lord Byron put to me. " I hear 
 they call me a Carbonaro. I am one. Italy re- 
 quired an alteration in her government, The 
 people were happier and more secure under Na- 
 poleon than under the Austrians ; and I blame 
 them, not for their attempt, but their failure. They 
 don't hate the Austrians half as much as they 
 
204' BYRON A CARBONARO. 
 
 deserve, and if they did hate them more they would 
 sweep these intruders from their country. In 
 wishing Italy to be free, and the Italians to be 
 united, I am a Carbonaro. 
 
 " Persons represent me as aleveller andan infidel, 
 I am neither ; and those who vilify me should take 
 care of themselves. I shall not forget them ; and I 
 hear that a reverend gentleman, who was accus- 
 tomed to deal out philippics against me,has got into 
 a worse scrape than ever I did. He was very violent 
 in his declamation, and must have been a detesta- 
 ble hypocrite. Hypocrisy is of all crimes the 
 worst. No man has sufFered more than I have 
 from deception, particularly during the unfortu- 
 nate and unpleasant occurrence with Lady Byron. 
 
 was supposed to be a man of the very highest 
 
 integrity ; he deceived meat the moment ; I placed 
 the greatest confidence in him ; but he is dead, 
 and my resentment does not go beyond the grave. 
 I find con solation now in reflecting on such matters ; 
 for my conduct has been like the arrow's flight, 
 compared to their sinuous serpent-like track." 
 
 After my acquaintance with Lord Byron, he 
 took a great interest in all that concerned the 
 welfare of the working classes, and particularly of 
 the artisans. 
 
 "I have lately read," he said on one occasion, 
 " of an institution recently established in London 
 for the instruction of mechanics. I highly approve 
 
A FRIEND TO EDUCATION. 205 
 
 of this, and intend to subscribe 50/. to it, but I shall 
 accompany the order for the money with a letter 
 giving my opinion on the subject. I am always 
 apprehensive schemes of this description are in- 
 tended to dupe people, and unless all the offices 
 in such an institution are filled with real practical 
 mechanics, the working classes will soon find 
 themselves deceived. If they permit any but 
 mechanics to have the direction of their affairs, 
 they will only become the tools of others. The 
 real working man will soon be ousted, and his 
 more cunning pretended friends will take posses- 
 sion and reap all the benefits. It gives me pleasure 
 to think what a mass of natural intellect this will 
 call into action ; if the plan succeed, and I firmly 
 hope it may, the ancient aristocracy of England 
 will be secure for ages to come. The most useful 
 and numerous body of people in the nation will 
 then judge for themselves, and when properly in- 
 formed will judge correctly. There is not on 
 earth a more honourable body of men than the 
 English nobility, and there is no system of govern- 
 ment under which life and property are better 
 secured than under the British constitution. 
 
 " The mechanics and working classes who can 
 maintain their families, are in my opinion the 
 happiest body of men. Poverty is wretched- 
 ness ; but it is perhaps to be preferred to the 
 heartless unmeaning dissipation of the higher 
 
206 RECEPTION AT ANATOLICA. 
 
 orders. I am thankful I am now entirely clear of 
 this, and my resolution to remain clear of it for 
 the rest of my life shall be immutable. 
 
 "The Greeks on the continent," said Lord Byron, 
 " follow the Turkish custom in welcoming stran- 
 gers, and when I arrived at Anatolica, they fired 
 their carbines with ball so close to my head, that 
 I thought there was no possibility of escaping. I 
 expected to be shot,and though I laughed heartily, 
 was a little frightened at first. I was delighted 
 however with the people, they themselves seemed 
 so delighted. Anatolica is an unhealthy swamp, 
 like Missolonghi. Greece, generally, is like every 
 half-cleared, half-cultivated country, not very 
 healthy. To remain in such places as Missolonghi 
 or Anatolica during the summer is almost certain 
 death; When the campaign opens in May, we 
 will take to the mountains ; there we shall enjoy 
 freedom and escape disease." 
 
 This is what Lord Byron frequently said to me 
 on the subject of religion : — 
 
 " I have both been annoyed and amused by 
 numerous attacks on my religious opinions, and 
 with the conversations about them. It is really 
 astonishing how these Religionists persecute. No 
 situation in life secures a man from their impor- 
 tunities. Under a pretence of being greatly ap- 
 prehensive for our eternal welfare, if we do not 
 follow their dictum, they persecute us in every 
 
ATTACKS OF THE RELIGIONISTS. 207 
 
 way possible. True religion teaches man humility, 
 charity, kindness, and every good act. Professing 
 religion is now become quite a trade. Thousands 
 sally forth to escape from labour, without the least 
 claim either by education, character, or station 
 in society, and assume the character of teachers. 
 They embrace different opinions, and are con- 
 tinually bellowing damnation against each other. 
 All join to crush liberal sentiments ; they have 
 sworn a bond against that charity which thinketh 
 no evil ; and they will remain in this disposition 
 until the bulk of mankind think for themselves. 
 As long as they are so ignorant as to be credu- 
 lous, there will always be impostors to profit by 
 their credulity. It would fill a volume to record 
 the manner in which I have been attacked. I am 
 sure that no man reads the Bible with more plea- 
 sure than I do; I read a chapter every day, and 
 in a short time shall be able to beat the Canters 
 with their own weapons. Most of them are like 
 the Catholics, who place the Virgin Mary before 
 Christ, and Christ before God ; only they have 
 substituted the Apostle Paul for the Virgin, and 
 they place him above Jesus, and Jesus above 
 the Almighty. 
 
 " Clergymen ought to posscssa perfect know- 
 ledge of astronomy ; no science expands the mind 
 so much ; it does away with narrow ideas. A moral 
 character is requisite in clergymen above all 
 
208 RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. 
 
 other men, and if they cannot give that comfort 
 they pretend to have a wish to give, they have at 
 least no right to impress on the mind of their fol- 
 lowers such damning anathemas. This is cruel, 
 wicked, and unjust — man cannot progress beyond 
 his ideas, as they enlarge, he becomes more 
 liberal and less persecuting. All men believe in 
 the great first causa, which we call Almighty God. 
 Love of life is fear of death, or of annihilation, 
 and therefore we hope to enjoy eternal life. The 
 liberal principles of Christianity, what Christ 
 taught, — mind, I say what Christ taught, — I have 
 no doubt would be conducive to the happiness of 
 the world ; but the system of ramming opinions 
 down our throats does harm to the cause, which 
 the fanatical preachers endeavour to support. * 
 
 * In support of what is said in the text, I subjoin here an 
 extract from a letter written to me by Mr. Kennedy, the gen- 
 tleman who has been so much spoken of from his religious 
 discussion with Lord Byron : — 
 
 " During his (Lord Byron's) residence in Cephalonia, I had 
 many long and interesting conversations with his Lordship on 
 religion ; and although I Mas not successful in bringing over 
 his Lordship to those views of religion which I believe to be 
 just, yet I conceive that the publication of our conversations will 
 be favourably received by the public, who will naturally be 
 pleased to know what such a celebrated man said of religion, 
 and what was said to him on that subject. The object of my 
 work will be to present a true and faithful picture of his Lord- 
 ship, as far as I saw it myself, or others saw it, on whose autho- 
 rity I can safely rely. It will prove that his Lordship, if not 
 
RELIGIOUS OPINIONS. 209 
 
 " While at Cephalonia, a gentleman of the name 
 of Kennedy was introduced to me ; I have a respect 
 for him, and believe him sincere in his professions. 
 He endeavoured to convince me that his ideas of 
 religion were correct. At that time my mind was 
 taken up with many other matters, particularly 
 with Greece. I like to be civil and to give answers 
 to questions which are put to me, although it is 
 not pleasant to be questioned, particularly on 
 abstruse subjects. They require a depth of 
 thought, and such men as I am think deeply. 
 Our minds are filled with ten thousand ideas. I 
 answered Mr. Kennedy, therefore, though without 
 any intention of converting him or allowing myself 
 to be converted. I believe even then, though un- 
 prepared, I had very often the best of the argu- 
 ment, and now I am sure I could defeat him. He 
 was not a skilful disputant. 
 
 " Even Greece is not to be clear of strife, as 
 respects her religious institutions. I hear that 
 Missionaries are to be introduced before the 
 country is cleared of the enemy, and religious 
 disputes are to be added to the other sources of 
 
 a real Christian, was not a confirmed infidel ; that he wished 
 to helieve in the truth of Christianity if he could ; that he was 
 not happy in the unsettled opinions which he had respecting re- 
 ligion ; and that latterly he studied the subject more than he 
 was accustomed to do. It is perhaps necessary to inform you 
 that I am a member of the Church of Scotland, the fundamental 
 articles of belief of which, are precisely the same as those con- 
 tained in the Thirfy-nine Articles of the Church of England." 
 
210 CONVERSION OF THE GREEKS. 
 
 discord. How very improper are such proceed- 
 ings — nothing could be more impolitic ; it will 
 cause ill blood throughout the country, and very 
 possibly be the means of again bringing Greece 
 under the Turkish yoke. Can it be supposed that 
 the Greek Priesthood, who have great influence 
 and even power, will tamely submit to see in- 
 terested self-opinionated foreigners interfere with 
 their flocks ? I say again, clear the country, and 
 teach the people, I mean the labouring people, to 
 read and write, and they will judge for themselves.* 
 " Look at Anatolica, what a beneficial effect was 
 produced there by the fall of a shell fired from the 
 Turkish camp ; the shell fell into the Church, and 
 struck a pipe (some depth under the surface) of 
 an ancient aqueduct, entirely unknown to the in- 
 habitants. The Priests took a proper advantage of 
 this to stimulate the Greeks to further resistance ; it 
 acted like an electrical shock ; the supply of water 
 relieved their wants, and the Priests ascribed it to 
 
 * Colonel Stanhope was one of the persons who seemed most 
 anxious to introduce Missionaries into Greece. One of the per- 
 sons whom he expressly invited had any thing hut a good cha- 
 racter. It is not for me to give currency to all the scandalous 
 reports which were in circulation, and therefore I shall be silent. 
 Missionaries, however, are men, and their trifling backslidings, 
 suffering the spirit to he subdued by the flesh, would really be 
 very excusable, were it not that they condemn themselves by 
 their exhortations to others, and by falling so very short of the 
 hypocritical model they hold up to public approbation. 
 
OPINIONS! OP AMERICA. 211 
 
 the immediate intervention of the Almighty, and 
 to the purity of the Greek Church. But if Schism 
 had been introduced among the people, every 
 effort of this kind would have been paralyzed." 
 
 With all Lord Byron's aristocratical preju- 
 dices, and it would be the extreme of folly to attri- 
 bute to him any attachment to democracy, such 
 as it has shewn itself in modern times, he was 
 by no means insensible to all the advantages 
 of liberal institutions. His hatred, however, 
 of any particular form of government, arose not 
 from any deduction of reasoning, but from some 
 palpable evidence of injustice, cruelty, and op- 
 pression. His opinions were the results of his 
 feelings, and were what rigid logicians call pre- 
 judices. They were formed, as I have often heard 
 him say, though my expressions fall short of his 
 vigorous language, from what he had seen and 
 felt, and not from any theory. He knew, as every 
 man knows, of the astonishing increase and pro- 
 sperity of the United States of America, and with- 
 out being able, like Colonel Stanhope, to expatiate 
 at large on the theory of this prosperity, out of his 
 love to human-kind, he loved the government 
 which, undisturbed by jealousy, allowed its sub- 
 jects to be free and happy. 
 
 " I wish well," he used to say, " to the United 
 States of America : the government of that country 
 is suitable to the people. The Americans profit 
 very much by the emigration of artisans and me- 
 
 V2 
 
212 EGOTISM OP THE AMERICANS. 
 
 chanics, who carry with them, ready formed, that 
 skill it has cost England vast sums of money to 
 bring to perfection. They are children, who 
 profit by the knowledge of their parents, but who 
 are at the same time the victims of their prejudices. 
 They have a fresh country to work on, and the 
 civilization and knowledge of Europe to work 
 with. They have carried with them, however, 
 some of the worst vices of European society, and 
 they have been heightened in the Southern States 
 by a voluptuous climate, and by the facility the 
 people once had of procuring slaves. Though I 
 think the government of America good, because 
 it is the government of the whole people, and 
 adapted to their views, I have no love for 
 America. It is not a country I should like to 
 visit. The Americans, they say, are great egotists. 
 I suppose all the people of young countries are 
 so. Man must have something to be vain of, and 
 when he has no ancestors in whose fame he may 
 exult, he must talk and boast of himself. If we 
 had as much communication with the natives of 
 Owhyhee, or with the Indians of the Continent of 
 America, as we have with the inhabitants of the 
 United States, and if we understood their lan- 
 guage, we should find them as vain-glorious as the 
 Americans. An Englishman does not boast of 
 himself, because he can always boast of his 
 country. For this he is called a patriot ; but if 
 lie were to praise himself as much as he praises 
 
THEIR SEPARATION FROM ENGLAND. 213 
 
 his institutions, he would be called an ass. He 
 indulges his vanity, and gets credit for patriotism. 
 Since it is found that the American government 
 works well, in the political slang of the day, the 
 Americans begin to boast of it. In a few years 
 more, when they have produced a score or two of 
 such men as Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson, 
 when they can talk with pride of the antiquity of 
 their institutions ; when they can exult, perhaps, in 
 some hundred victories, like that of New Orleans, 
 selfishness and egotism will change their meaning, 
 and be merged into a love of their country. 
 
 " On this account I have always thought the mode 
 in which the Americans separated from Great 
 Britain unfortunate for them. It made them 
 despise or reject every thing English. They dis- 
 inherited themselves of all the historical glory of 
 England ; there was nothing left for them to ad- 
 mire or venerate but their own immediate success, 
 and they became egotists, like savages, from 
 wanting a history. The spirit of jealousy and 
 animosity, excited by the contests between Eng- 
 land and America, is now subsiding. Should 
 peace continue, prejudices on both sides will 
 gradually decrease. Already the Americans are 
 beginning, I think, to cultivate the antiquities of 
 England, and as they extend their inquiries, 
 they will find other objects of admiration be- 
 sides themselves. It was of some importance, 
 both for them and for us, that they did not reject 
 
214 byron's superstition. 
 
 our language with our government. Time, I 
 should hope, would approximate the institutions 
 of both countries to one another ; and the use of 
 the same language will do more to unite the two 
 nations than if they both had only one king. 
 
 " I would not answer, indeed, for the continuance 
 of the present system of government in America, 
 should that country be involved in long and ex- 
 pensive wars. In any season of distress, the free 
 and slave states will separate. Freedom and 
 slavery cannot dwell under the same roof; to bind 
 them together force is necessary, and nothing but 
 an arbitrary master over both can keep them 
 united.'' 
 
 Lord Byron had some superstitions clinging to 
 him. He believed in presentiments, fatal and for- 
 tunate days, and in ghosts. On setting out from 
 Italy for Greece, a storm drove the vessel back ; a 
 circumstance which has occurred on numerous 
 occasions, when the voyage has been afterwards 
 happily accomplished, and followed by no disas- 
 trous results; but Lord Byron, though he is said 
 to have quoted the proverb, that a bad beginning 
 makes a good ending, was made melancholy by a 
 foul wind. This circumstance was often mentioned 
 among his friends at Missolonghi. On rallying 
 Lord Byron on this subject, and observing that I 
 thought it was very strange a man of his strength 
 of mind should entertain such a vulgar belief as 
 that of the existence of ghosts, he smiled, and re- 
 
HIS OPINION OF COUNT GAMBA. 215 
 
 plied, "I have from my childhood endeavoured to 
 impress a belief of supernatural causes on my 
 mind. I cannot say why I had such a propensity, 
 nor why it continued so long, but I derive great 
 pleasure from the idea; even now, I actually 
 believe such things may be." At this he sighed 
 deeply, and said, " I have had wonderful pre- 
 sentiments in my time. Hardly any unfortunate 
 circumstance has ever happened to me, of which I 
 have not had some forerunning warning. We 
 can't help these things, and can no more account 
 for the existence of one sentiment than for another. 
 I know not why, but I have a particular aversion 
 either to begin or conclude any work on a Friday." 
 His opinion concerning Count Gamba was 
 another little superstition of Lord Byron's. He 
 was very partial to the Count, without placing 
 much confidence in him, because he had got a 
 notion that the Count was an unfortunate man, 
 and that whatever he undertook would fail. I 
 was particularly enjoined by Lord Byron never 
 to allow the Count to undertake any piece of public 
 service without first acquainting his Lordship with 
 it, and obtaining his approbation. He always 
 expected that the Count would get himself and 
 others into scrapes ; whether the Count had or 
 had not ever given Lord Byron any reason to form 
 such an opinion, before I was acquainted with them, 
 I know not ; but I never saw any thing to justify 
 
21G EXPLANATION OF TALKING NONSENSE. 
 
 it. I believe it was one of those prejudices or 
 presentiments Lord Byron liked to indulge, or at 
 least which he never made any effort to control 
 or subdue. 
 
 Before my acquaintance with Lord Byron, I had 
 no idea I should have found him of so very serious 
 a turn. I mentioned to him my surprise at find- 
 ing him so different from what I had expected. 
 At this he laughed, and said, " Chicanery is the 
 order of the day ; and I always endeavour to con- 
 verse so as to be agreeable to my visitors. They 
 speak of me as they find me, and as I talk nonsense 
 to them, because it suits them, I have got the re- 
 putation of being a romancer. After all, however, 
 I feel relief in talking what you call nonsense to 
 my visitors. I know the world, perhaps, better than 
 you give me credit for, and I am obliged sometimes 
 to endeavour to please a part of it. But who arc 
 these persons who call me a trirler? My visitors 
 have been poets, painters, punsters, travellers; 
 all would-be great personages, all triflers them- 
 selves, without any pursuit but amusement. They 
 have found me ready to meet them in talking 
 nonsense, because they liked it, but naturally I am 
 of a serious disposition. I love solitude. When I 
 was in Greece before, unpleasant things were said 
 of me, because I mingled so little with other per- 
 sons ; Mr. Hobhouse was indeed with me, but we 
 did not agree very well, and were not always to- 
 
OPINIONS ON MARRIAGE. 217 
 
 gether ; I have known him a long time, and respect 
 him much, but his disposition and mine were not 
 always alike." 
 
 There may be some persoras able to explain the 
 circumstance I shall now relate ; but it seems to 
 have no other interest than to excite conjectures 
 as to its cause. " I was once," said Lord Byron, " in 
 company with the late Queen Caroline ; I was sit- 
 ting on her right hand, and another young noble- 
 man was sitting on her left. All of a sudden she 
 burst into tears, and I never could divine the cause. 
 There is no accounting for women's tears. She 
 might have been thinking of her situation, and the 
 neglect and injuries she had experienced might 
 all at once have rushed into her mind. She was 
 an unhappy woman, and much to be pitied, par- 
 ticularly in her latter days, when she was made 
 the tool of a party. 
 
 " There are so many undefinable, and nameless, 
 and not-to-be named causes of dislike, aversion, 
 and disgust, in the matrimonial state, that it is 
 always impossible for the public, or the best friends 
 of the parties, to judge between man and wife. 
 Their's is a relation about which nobody but them- 
 selves can form a correct idea, or have any right 
 to speak. As long as neither party commits gross 
 injustice towards the other ; as long as neither the 
 woman nor the man is guilty of any offence which 
 is injurious to the community ; as long as the hus- 
 band provides for his offspring, and secures the pub- 
 
218 HIS RESPECT FOR LADY BYRON. 
 
 lie against the dangers arising from their neglected 
 education, or from the charge of supporting them; 
 by what right does it censure him for ceasing to 
 dwell under the same roof with a woman, who is 
 to him, because he knows her, while others do not, 
 an object of loathing? Can any thing be more 
 monstrous than for the public voice to compel in- 
 dividuals who dislike each other to continue their 
 cohabitation ? This is at least the effect of its in- 
 terfering with a relationship, of which it has no 
 possible means of judging. It does not indeed 
 drag a man to a woman's bed by physical force ; 
 but it does exert a moral force continually and 
 effectively to accomplish the same purpose. 
 Nobody can escape this force but those who are 
 too high, or those who are too low, for public 
 opinion to reach ; or those hypocrites, who are, 
 before others, the loudest in their approbation of 
 the empty and unmeaning forms of society, that 
 they may securely indulge all their propensities 
 in secret. I have suffered amazingly from this in- 
 terference ; for though I set it at defiance, I was 
 neither too high nor too low to be reached by it, 
 and I was not hypocrite enough to guard myself 
 from its consequences. 
 
 "What do they say of my family affairs in England, 
 Parry ? My story, I suppose, like other minor 
 events, interested the people for a day, and was 
 then forgotten?" I replied, no; I thought, owing 
 to the very great interest the public took in him, 
 
DISLIKE TO SPEAK OP HIS FAMILY AFFAIRS. 21 9 
 
 it was still remembered and talked about. I men- 
 tioned that it was generally supposed a difference 
 of religious sentiments between him and Lady 
 Byron had caused the public breach. "No, Parry," 
 was the reply ; " Lady Byron has a liberal mind, 
 particularly as to religious opinions ; and I wish, 
 when I married her, that I had possessed the same 
 command over myself that I now do. Had I pos- 
 sessed a little more wisdom, and more forbearance, 
 we might have been happy. I wished, when I was 
 first married, to have remained in the country, par- 
 ticularly till my pecuniary embarrassments were 
 over. I knew the society of London ; I knew the 
 characters of many of those who are called ladies, 
 with whom Lady Byron would necessarily have to 
 associate, and I dreaded her contact with them ; 
 but I have too much of my mother about me to 
 be dictated to ; I like freedom from constraint ; I 
 hate artificial regulations ; my conduct has always 
 been dictated by my own feelings, and Lady Byron 
 was quite the creature of rules. She was not per- 
 mitted either to ride, or run, or walk, but as the 
 physician prescribed. She was not suffered to go 
 out when I wished to go ; and then the old house 
 was a mere ghost-house ; I dreamed of ghosts, and 
 thought of them waking. It was an existence I 
 could not support." Here Lord Byron broke off 
 abruptly, saying, " I hate to speak of my family 
 affairs ; though I have been compelled to talk non- 
 sense concerning them to some of my butterfly 
 
220 HIS GUSTS OF PASSION. 
 
 visitors, glad on any terms to get rid of their im- 
 portunities. I long to be again on the mountains. 
 I am fond of solitude, and should never talk non- 
 sense if I always found plain men to talk to." 
 
 Lord Byron was subject to violent gusts of pas- 
 sion ; but they were merely gusts, and I never 
 saw him do any mischief while under their in- 
 fluence. I heard him make use of many threats, 
 and I do not know, on one or two occasions, that 
 he might not have carried them into execution, but 
 for my interference. When very much annoyed, 
 he would rise, stamp with his foot on the ground, 
 and on one or two occasions he even threatened 
 to have recourse to his pistols. This was not his 
 natural state ; and it was only when he was goaded, 
 as I have already described, that he gave way to 
 these ungovernable out-breakings. 
 
 He was very fond of making jokes, both practi- 
 cal and others, as they relieved his mind, he said, 
 and took olThis attention from unpleasant thoughts. 
 He had the greatest stock of quaint sayings and 
 phrases of any man I ever met with ; of the dif- 
 ferent languages and terms used by soldiers, 
 sailors, tradesmen, and other classes of men, or of 
 what is called slang, he was quite a master. I 
 knew a great number of such words from having 
 been either a sailor or a soldier nearly all my life ; 
 but he knew as many as I did in my own profes- 
 sion, and a great many used in other professions, 
 of which I knew nothing. Much of his convcrsa- 
 
HIS OPINIONS OF SOME AUTHORS. 221 
 
 tion with me was carried on in sea-phrases, and he 
 made me always use them. Even in telling him 
 any little anecdotes I knew, or adventures which 
 had happened to me, such as that of Mr. Bentham's 
 cruise, he always insisted on my using none but 
 sea terms, and probably he found greater pleasure 
 in the circumstance than my readers may have 
 found, from the manner in which he compelled 
 me to state it. 
 
 Lord Byron was rather partial to questioning 
 me about what books I read, and what books I 
 liked to read, and if I read poetry. I used to 
 reply, as the fact is, that I had very little time to 
 read, and having no library, when I had time, I 
 read what fell in my way ; that I liked Shak- 
 speare — Billy Shakspeare as I called him, whom 
 none of the moderns were ever likely to equal. 
 "However high,'' said I, " your Lordship and 
 others may come, you will never quite reachBilly." 
 "There you are quite right, old boy ; but do you 
 never read any modern book?' "Oh, yes; — 
 I have read some of your works ; Don Juan 
 for example, and there is nothing in that which 
 pleases people of my description so well, or 
 of which I have heard so much, as the ship- 
 wreck ; that is something we mechanics and 
 the working classes understand. Just before 
 I left England, too, I read a book that I liked 
 very much; it was called Wat Tyler." "That's 
 Southey's," said his Lordship, " it is the best 
 
222 HIS ARDENT CURIOSITY. 
 
 thing he ever wrote.'' " But have you never 
 read any of Sir Walter Scott's novels ?" " No, my 
 Lord, I have had something else to do." " I have 
 a great respect for Sir Walter, but I have read 
 enough to know how much of his works are his own 
 property, and how much he takes from others. 
 No author is more successful in appropriation. 
 We who live at this late period of the world are 
 all plagiarists; Ihave been loudly accused of being 
 one, but I am sure I never deserved it half as much 
 as Sir Walter. For him, however, I have a high 
 respect, and I shall never, I am sure, act otherwise 
 towards him than in a friendly manner." " Ah," I 
 replied, "I see you all shift a plank occasionally." 
 " Shift a plank ; what do you mean ?" "Why, leave 
 the scantling and the moulding, and the form, and 
 put in a piece of new or old stuff that was not in- 
 tended for that place." " This is too true," said 
 Lord Byron, laughing at my comparing plagiarism 
 to the repairs of an old ship. 
 
 Lord Byron had an insatiable curiosity, and was 
 always making inquiries. He made me tell him 
 every little incident of my life, and this sometimes 
 led him to make remarks which I recollect very 
 well. When I was in Virginia, in America, for 
 example, I remember having an adventure with 
 some of the deserters from the British army in 
 Canada. I do not choose to be more particular 
 here, as it may implicate individuals ; I shall 
 merely observe that desertion and treachery had 
 
OPINION OP THE IRISH. 223 
 
 found their proper rewards, and were left in 
 beggary and want ; but mentioning this circum- 
 stance, led Lord Byron to make the following 
 observation. 
 
 " Why did not the Americans take the Canadas?" 
 " They would have done it," I replied, " but, for 
 the great loyalty of the Scotch and French Canadi- 
 ans, The Irish in Canada were not to be trusted ; 
 they never had patience to make many improve- 
 ments, and the instant they had cleared the land, 
 and could sell it, they did so, and went to the 
 United States of America. 
 
 "The low Irish," said Lord Byron, "are never 
 ot be trusted. Fortunately, however, they are like 
 the rattle-snake, they give you warning before they 
 bite ; they always have a means of letting you 
 know they mean to deceive you. I know Ireland 
 produces many clever men ; but the rabble are 
 deceitful and cunning. In a century, perhaps, the 
 Irish may approximate in their manners to the 
 English, and then we shall hardly know any dif- 
 ference between the two people. In any great 
 national contest, I would place the English in the 
 centre, the Welsh on the right, and the Scotch on 
 the left; the Irish I would place in the front, and 
 then I am sure they would not deceive me ; I 
 should then have no fear of the result : but if they 
 were mixed with the others, and a battle were to 
 take place with some great foreign power, I should 
 not know on what to calculate." 
 
224 COOKE THE ACTOR. 
 
 I mentioned to Lord Byron that I had lodged 
 at the same house in New York, in which the 
 celebrated actor, Cooke, died ; and that he la- 
 mented loudly his unhappy fate, in dying far 
 away from his native land. " I knew Cooke very 
 well," said Lord Byron ; " he was the greatest 
 genius of an actor I ever saw. I think Kean is a 
 great man, but Cooke was much his superior. 
 He had very great natural talents, but they had 
 never been properly cultivated. With half the 
 education John Kemble had received, and half the 
 care he took of himself, he would have been the 
 very first actor of the day." 
 
 I must now close this chapter by remarking, that 
 I was not at the time aware Lord Byron's conver- 
 sations with me could ever possibly have any in- 
 terest for the public, or I should have treasured 
 them with greater care than I have done. What 
 I have here given, is only what my memory enabled 
 me to recal. From my noble friend's kindness to 
 me, I can but wish that he should stand well in 
 the recollection of the world; at the same time, I 
 am convinced, that could I have given every word 
 which he uttered, and just as he uttered it, such 
 a picture of his life and mind would have re- 
 dounded more to his honour than any feeble 
 praise of mine. 
 
225 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 LORD BYRON, COLONEL STANHOPE, AND MR. 
 BENTHAM. 
 
 Reasons for noticing- Colonel Stanhope's attack on Lord Byron — Na- 
 ture of this attack — Probable reason why Lord Byron's Friends 
 have not defended him — Circumstances of the case — Lord Byron's 
 reasons for his conduct — His attacks on Mr. Bentham — Their 
 amount — Colonel Stanhope anxious to obtain Mr. Bentham's favour 
 — Source of the Greek Committee's want of confidence in Lord 
 Byron — Unjustifiable time of Colonel Stanhope's attack — Criterion 
 for deciding- betwixt them — Colonel Stanhope's expenses in Greece 
 — To what purpose directed — His unpleasant interference — Wants 
 to rule in Greece — What he effected — Comparison between the con- 
 sequences of his Departure and Lord Byron's Loss — Consistency of 
 the two Gentlemen — Lord Byron only zealous for the Welfare of 
 Greece — His Faults traced to his birth and education — Apolog-y for 
 some of his Errors. 
 
 I should never have thought of bringing the 
 gentlemen mentioned at the head of this chapter 
 before the reader in juxta-position, but for the 
 fact of Colonel Stanhope having laboured to cast 
 a considerable degree of censure on Lord Byron, 
 chiefly, as it appears to me, because he was not 
 an admirer of Mr. Bentham. Knowing, as I do, 
 the circumstances on which Colonel Stanhope 
 differed with Lord Byron, and knowing the 
 
 Q 
 
226 TO WHOM THE REMARKS ARE ADDRESSED. 
 
 opinions of the latter, both with regard to Colo- 
 nel Stanhope and Mr. Bentham, I think it be- 
 comes me who was honoured by Lord Byron's 
 confidence, to vindicate his memory even from 
 the slight imputation of not respecting the West- 
 minster philosopher. 
 
 With a large class of the community, I am 
 aware Lord Byron needs, on this account, 
 no vindication. Either from not knowing Mr. 
 Bentham, or from not understanding his works, 
 they completely share Lord Byron's opinions, 
 and, like him, rather ridicule Mr. Bentham's 
 oddities than discuss his principles. With them, 
 therefore, it will be no disparagement to Lord 
 Byron, that he differed with his friend Colonel 
 Stanhope on this subject. But this class of 
 persons are opposed to Lord Byron on almost 
 every other point. They are not partial to those 
 general principles for which he wrote and fought; 
 neither do I suppose that he would be extremely 
 anxious to secure their good opinion. It is not 
 to them, therefore, I address these few obser- 
 vations ; I appeal, on the contrary, to those who 
 admire the principles Mr. Bentham advocates. 
 I would justify the poet of liberal principles in 
 the minds of those who worship at the shrine 
 of liberty, from the imputation of wanting proper 
 respect for the philosopher whom they place at the 
 
DISPUTES BETWEEN BYRON AND STANHOPE. "227 
 
 head of their party. I speak to those who 
 reason, rather than to those who laugh ; and I 
 hope to convince them, that Byron was less to 
 blame than those unreflecting friends of an old 
 man, who will thrust him and his principles, 
 which they do not understand, before the world 
 in an unfavourable light. Lord Byron laughed 
 at their intemperate zeal, and the ridiculous 
 appearance of their apostle, but he died in de- 
 fence of those principles about which they have 
 the great merit of incessantly talking. At the 
 same time, I do not know that it would be ne- 
 cessary for me to say a single word on this sub- 
 ject, had not Colonel Stanhope's letter, in which 
 he censures Lord Byron, been quoted in the 
 newspapers, and by that means obtained a 
 degree of circulation far beyond what it would 
 have received had it been confined to the Colo- 
 nel's own book. On this account it has become 
 injurious to Lord Byron's name, and deserves 
 my notice: 
 
 Another reason for mentioning Colonel Stan- 
 hope in juxta-position with Lord Byron is, that 
 these two gentlemen differed very much in their 
 opinions and conduct, as to Greece. I have 
 already more than once alluded to their dis- 
 putes ; and if Colonel Stanhope Avas right, we 
 must condemn Lord Byron. The Greek Coin- 
 
 Q2 
 
228 NATURE OP THE ACCUSATION. 
 
 mittee have thanked the former, and have thus 
 tacitly censured the latter. In bringing the two 
 before the reader, I wish him to decide betwixt 
 them. I had to choose my party on the spot ; 
 and I do not pretend to be impartial, for I 
 never sided with Colonel Stanhope. He was 
 nothing, but as the agent of the Greek Com- 
 mittee ; and the public opinion of the conduct 
 of that body will, of course, depend on the 
 opinion formed of the conduct of their agent. 
 
 In the volume entitled " Greece in 1823 and 
 1824, being a series of letters and other docu- 
 ments, &c. &c, by the Honourable Colonel Stan- 
 hope," there is, in one of the letters, the fol- 
 lowing passage : — " Capt. York, of the Alacrity, 
 a ten-gun brig, came on shore a few days ago, 
 to demand an equivalent for an Ionian boat that 
 had been taken in the act of going out of the 
 Gulf of Lepanto with provisions, arms, &c. The 
 Greek fleet, at that time, blockaded the harbour 
 with five brigs, and the Turks had fourteen 
 vessels of war in the Gulf. The Captain main- 
 tained, that the British government recognised 
 no blockade that was not efficient, and that that 
 efficiency depended on the numerical superiority 
 of cannon. On this principle, without going at 
 all into the merits of the case, he demanded re- 
 stitution of the property. Prince Mavrocordato 
 
COLONEL STANHOPE'S LETTER. 229 
 
 remonstrated, and offered to submit the case to 
 the decision of the British government ; but the 
 Captain peremptorily demanded restitution of 
 the property in four hours. He received 200 
 dollars as an equivalent. Lord Byron conduct- 
 ed the business in behalf of the Captain. In 
 the evening- he conversed with me on the sub- 
 ject ; I said the affair was conducted in a bully- 
 ing manner, and not according to the principles 
 of equity and the law of nations. His Lordship 
 started into a passion. He contended, that law 
 justice, and equity had nothing to do with 
 politics. That may be; but I will never lend 
 myself to injustice. His Lordship then began, 
 according to custom, to attack Mr. Bentham. I 
 said, that it was highly illiberal to make per- 
 sonal attacks on Mr. Bentham before a friend who 
 held him in high estimation. He said, that he 
 only attacked his public principles, which were 
 mere theories, but dangerous ; — injurious to 
 Spain, and calculated to do great mischief in 
 Greece. I did not object to his Lordship's 
 attacking Mr. B.'s principles ; what I objected to 
 were his personalities. His Lordship never 
 reasoned on any of Mr. B.'s writings, but merely 
 made sport of them. I would, therefore, ask him 
 what it was that he objected to. Lord Byron men- 
 tioned his Panopticon as visionary. I said that ex- 
 
230 COLONEL stanhope's letter. 
 
 pericncc in Pennsylvania, at Milbank, &c, had 
 proved it otherwise. I said that Bentham had 
 a truly British heart ; but that Lord Byron, after 
 professing liberal principles from his boyhood, 
 had, when called upon to act, proved himself a 
 Turk. — Lord Byron asked, what proofs have you 
 of this? — Your conduct in endeavouring to crush 
 the press, by declaiming against it to Mavrocor- 
 dato, and your general abuse of liberal princi- 
 ples. — Lord Byron said, that if he had held up 
 his finger he could have crushed the press. — I 
 replied, with all this power, which, by the way, 
 you never possessed, you went to the Prince and 
 poisoned his ear. — Lord Byron declaimed against 
 the liberals whom he knew. — But what liberals ? 
 I asked ; did he borrow his notions of free-men 
 from the Italians ? — Lord Byron. No ; from the 
 Hunts, Cartwrights, &c. — And still, said I, you 
 presented Cartwright's Reform Bill, and aided 
 Hunt, by praising his poetry, and giving him the 
 sale of your works. — Lord Byron exclaimed, you 
 are worse than Wilson, and should quit the army. 
 — I replied, I am a mere soldier, but never will 
 I abandon my principles. Our principles are 
 diametrically opposite, so let us avoid the sub- 
 ject. If Lord Byron acts up to his professions, 
 he will be the greatest ; — if not, the meanest of 
 mankind. — He said, he hoped his character did not 
 
LORD BYRON NOT DEFENDED. 231 
 
 depend on my assertions. — No, said I, your genius 
 has immortalized you. The worst could not de- 
 prive you of fame. — Lord Byron. Well, you shall 
 see ; judge me by my acts. When he wished me 
 good night, I took up the light to conduct him 
 to the passage, but he said, What! holdup a 
 light to a Turk !" 
 
 This is one paragraph of several in Colonel 
 Stanhope's book, in which the conduct of Lord 
 Byron is sharply censured ; and, to me, it seems 
 very hard that his fair fame should suffer, after his 
 death, by the attacks of such a man as I take 
 Colonel Stanhope to be. I am told, also, that 
 what he has published is trifling, compared to 
 what he says. Among his associates must be 
 some who were Lord Byron's friends ; and they, 
 I should think, would defend him from these 
 verbal calumnies. That they have not cleared 
 him from this published attack, arises, probably, 
 from the impossibility of their doing it without, 
 in some measure, condemning the Greek Com- 
 mittee. Eitherthey are members of this committee, 
 or they wish on some other grounds to see its fame 
 unsullied; and the task of defending Lord Byron 
 has fallen on me, because I also know the cir- 
 cumstances of the case, and have no motive to 
 conceal the truth. 
 
 The first imputation against Lord Byron is, 
 
232 LORD BYRON NOT GUILTY OF BULLYING. 
 
 that the business was conducted (by him) in a 
 bullying manner; implying that Lord Byron sup- 
 ported Captain York in his unjust claims, and 
 supported them in a bullying manner. I had 
 not then arrived in Greece, and know the cir- 
 cumstances only from what Lord Byron told me. 
 It is true, that Captain York demanded restitu- 
 tion; and, with that promptness which distin- 
 guishes the negotiations of our seamen, he fixed 
 the hour beyond which he would not wait. He 
 might be in error, as to the laws of nations, and 
 be ignorant of equity, as Colonel Stanhope says 
 he was, but there can be no doubt that he was 
 instructed to make the demand. If there were 
 any bullying, it was by the British government, 
 one of whose most obedient servants, not to 
 say humble slaves, is Colonel Stanhope. The 
 money which was paid as the equivalent for 
 the restitution came from the pocket of Lord 
 Byron. The person with whom the negotiation 
 was conducted was Prince Mavrocordato, Lord 
 Byron's friend, and Colonel Stanhope's opponent ; 
 so that Colonel Stanhope requires us to believe 
 Lord Byron defended the injustice of the British 
 government, and behaved in a bullying manner 
 to his friend, that he might pay away his own 
 money ; and that the opponent of his friend 
 afterwards remonstrated with him for bully- 
 
MOTIVES FOR HIS CONDUCT. 233 
 
 ing, at which he flew into a passion. That 
 there was a violent dispute between Colonel 
 Stanhope and Lord Byron I know ; but that the 
 Colonel has given a fair report of it seems incon- 
 sistent, both with human nature generally, and 
 the particular character of Lord Byron. 
 
 Lord Byron's motives for counselling the resti- 
 tution, and his reasoning on the subject, as he ex- 
 plained them to me, were as follows ; — " The 
 Greeks are not recognised as an independent 
 power; they are insurgents. The government of 
 Great Britain has not acknowledged them as an 
 independent nation, and does not admit their right 
 to blockade and make war. Whatever may be my 
 opinions as to this part of the conduct of our go- 
 vernment, and however much I think the princi- 
 ples of politics have nothing whatever to do with 
 either law, justice, or equity, these are things I 
 cannot alter; I must take them as I find them. 
 The British Government is resolved to act in this 
 manner, and I have only to consider how I can ex- 
 tract for the Greeks the greatest advantages out 
 of this manner of acting. If the possessions of the 
 British Government were as far off as China, I 
 should laugh at its folly ; but it happens unfortu- 
 nately that this Government possesses the country 
 where alone we can find a market for our cattle, 
 the only produce we have to sell, and that country 
 
234 COLONEL STANHOPE'S SELF-PRAISE. 
 
 is the only place whence we can procure our most 
 necessary supplies. If this Government either 
 cut off these supplies, or attack us, we have no 
 means of resistance, and must fall a prey either to 
 it, if it carry its cupidity so far, or to the Turks. 
 Knowing this, I counselled restitution, not because 
 it was just, for as I say justice has nothing to do 
 with politics, but because it was expedient for us 
 to do so. Colonel Stanhope, who seems rather 
 fond of thrusting his friends into danger, Avould 
 have had us resist Captain York's demand, but 
 whatever Prince Mavrocordato might think of the 
 justice of the measure, and however he might argue 
 with his wily ingenuity against it to the Captain, 
 he was aware of the policy of compliance ; and I 
 advanced the money which saved Greece from the 
 anger of the Ionian Government." 
 
 The only bullying in the case, therefore, which 
 Colonel Stanhope hasattributed to Lord Byron, was 
 the act of his own master, whose power the Greeks 
 could not resist. Lord Byron seeing that resistance 
 would cause damage, if not destruction, advised 
 submission. That his advice was high-minded, 
 I will not say ; but I am sure it was prudent. 
 Colonel Stanhope, seeing only the abstraction 
 called justice, and having nothing to lose which- 
 ever way the question might be decided, was 
 against submission. If we allow his to have been 
 
BYRON AND MR. BENTHAM. 235 
 
 the most virtuous resolve, the course recommended 
 by Byron was certainly the most useful. 
 
 After Colonel Stanhope has finished this part of 
 his attack on Lord Byron, he commends himself: 
 " I will never lend myself to injustice." Herein, 
 however, he shews himself only half a Benthamite, 
 and that he has still a lingering for the praise of 
 sympathy, so much reprobated by his teacher. 
 Little as I know of the matter, I can tell him that 
 Mr.Bentham would not, on principle, have regard- 
 ed an assent to that which was most expedient as 
 lending one's self to an act of injustice. Whatever 
 else Colonel Stanhope may have done, I know he 
 bearded the distressed people he went to assist. 
 Lord Byron, I am sure, never bullied the Greeks, 
 either on his own account, or on account of Colonel 
 Stanhope's masters. 
 
 The next imputation which Colonel Stanhope 
 throws out against Lord Byron is, that he made 
 personal attacks on Mr. Bentham. After the 
 little anecdote I have already related of Mr. 
 Bentham, and when it is universally admitted, 
 even by his warmest admirers, that Ms writings, 
 whatever Mr. Dumont's may be, are scarcely 
 readable, I must say, I think the only way in 
 which a man of Lord Byron's extraordinary 
 powers could treat the world-reforming preten- 
 sions of Mr. Bentham, was by laughing at them. 
 
236 colonel stanhope's flattery. 
 
 On this point also they were only on a par. Mr. 
 Bentham has no more respect for poets, than Lord 
 Byron had for reformers and philosophers. He 
 censures them whenever he has an opportunity, 
 though it is probable that in this warfare the poet 
 had the advantage, and that the philosopher's 
 friends were made to feel his vulnerability. 
 
 But by whom and to whom was the accusation 
 made, that Lord Byron did not respect Mr. Ben- 
 tham ? By a person anxious to retain his friend- 
 ship, to another person equally anxious to stand 
 well with him. It is well known that Mr. Ben- 
 tham is ambitious of being the founder of a sect ; 
 he is the patron of two or three small societies ; 
 and of a number of nascent philosophers. Every 
 naval or military hero who diverges from the paths 
 of routine and discipline, and talks and writes of 
 politics and reform, seeks encouragement from 
 him. Colonel Stanhope on this ground seems to 
 have been desirous of obtaining his countenance 
 and patronage, and naturally, therefore, wrote to 
 Mr. Bowring, who was already the protege of Mr. 
 Bentham, how warmly he had defended him from 
 the attacks of Lord Byron. All this is very well, 
 however much the zealous defender may have 
 exaggerated the statements ; and as these letters 
 were shewn to Mr. Bentham, or he was told their 
 contents, they might in this respectanswer Colonel 
 
HIS PRAISE OF MR. BENTHAM. 237 
 
 Stanhope's purpose. I see in this nothingbutavery 
 common example of a man flattering himself indi- 
 rectly into the good graces of a great man. In 
 Colonel Stanhope's book, there are abundant 
 examples of the same method of insinuating one's 
 self into favour. In one letter to Mr. Bo wring, to 
 be of course shewn to Mr. Bentham, the latter is 
 called " the finest genius of the most enlightened age, 
 — the immortal Bentham," — p. 55. Had Colonel 
 Stanhope confined his remarks to his letters, he 
 might have disputed with his dear friend Mr. Bow- 
 ring for the patronage of the philosopher, and 
 nobody else would have cared one atom about the 
 matter. But when he publishes his defence of 
 Mr. Bentham, and founds on it no less important an 
 accusation against Lord Byron, than that he was an 
 enemy of liberal principles ; — of those principles, 
 his faith in which he sealed with his life ; — it be- 
 comes those who can see through this sort of job- 
 bing for reputation to expose it, and to shew how 
 much the accuser stands below the accused in his 
 veneration of all that is truly dignified in human 
 nature *. 
 
 * I cannot here withhold from my readers a letter written by 
 Mr. Bentham, taken from Colonel Stanhope's book. The reader 
 will see in it a justification of Lord Byron, even supposing lie 
 had done nothing else but laugh at the vanity both of the phi- 
 losopher and the soldier. He will also infer from one pas- 
 
238 MR. bentham's praise op stanhope. 
 
 n leaving the ungrateful subject of Mr. Ben- 
 tham, and I should never have adverted to it, but 
 
 sage that the Greek Deputies knew how to appreciate properly 
 the exertions of Colonel Stanhope in favour of the Greek cause. 
 The philosopher appeals to the Deputies to replace the Colonel 
 n their good opinion : — 
 
 " Queen-Square-Place, Westminster, 
 " \5tk March, 1824. 
 " My dear Children, 
 
 * Stanhope, who actually conse- 
 crates to the cause of Greece two-thirds of his moderate income ; 
 and of all the persons who, solely for the purpose of giving you 
 this pledge of friendship, have heen induced to concur in this 
 sacrifice, there is not one who does not entertain of this same 
 Stanhope the highest possible idea, that is to say, in all points — 
 wisdom as well as probity, philanthropy, and attachment to the 
 cause of liberty in Greece. 
 
 " As for me, what I know and what I think of Stanhope is 
 (I believe) yet unknown to you. After a most careful study, to 
 which I have subjected him for about a year past, I believe that 
 I run no risk in saying, that I will stake all the reputation which 
 I may possess upon his head, in such a manner that if he were 
 to conduct himself ill, in any respect whatever, it might be said, 
 Bentham has been grossly deceived — he knows nothing of man- 
 kind. I should never have done were I to begin to depict him 
 to you, * * * son and ally of the highest families of our 
 country, * * * * he has stripped himself, with his eyes 
 open, and always without any bitter feeling of every chance of 
 promotion and of favour, by pleading by his writings for the 
 
MR. BENTHAM'S PRAISE OP STANHOPE. 239 
 
 for the manner in which Lord Byron has been 
 censured for not admiring him, I may observe that, 
 
 liberty of the press, and also by pleading in the same manner 
 for the soldier against military tyranny, with the view of 
 inducing our government to abolish the afflicting punishment of 
 flogging, as has been done in almost every other country. 
 
 * * * * * 
 
 "With respect to Stanhope, I will take upon myself to send 
 you, that is to say, to our Englishman Luriottis, one of the 
 letters of the honourable Colonel to myself ; it is the only one 
 which I have received from him addressed to me personally, 
 since he departed for Greece, on that journey, in the course of 
 which, by his virtues and his good conduct, he has made the 
 conquest of Philhellenic Germany and Switzerland, which have 
 placed him at their head. This is the only one which he has 
 addressed to me, but he is a constant correspondent of the Com- 
 mittee, whose agent he is ; and scarcely is there a letter from 
 him in which there is not a word on me in the same sense as 
 this. I have seen three letters from him of later date, and writ- 
 ten from Greece itself, and I have had the good fortune to see 
 that they are much more encouraging. ' But you are partial in 
 his favour,' you will say. I confess it : but how ? It is not 
 because he has become my friend that I entertain this opinion 
 of him, but because, in consequence of the good opinion which 
 I saw that every body entertained of him, I resolved to make a 
 friend of him, and to open for him the door which I am com- 
 pelled to keep closed against the crowd, which would otherwise 
 invade the few moments which I may yet pass upon earth. 
 
 " Well ! If, after having read this letter, you should happen 
 to share with me the opinion which I cannot help entertaining 
 
240 BYRON LOGICAL IN HIS FEELINGS. 
 
 even supposing all the anger of the Colonel to be 
 justified, it only amounts to this, that Lord Byron 
 was more disposed to laugh than to reason. He 
 was logical in his feelings if not in his words ; and 
 had as strong a hatred of every species of oppres- 
 sion and bad government as if he had done nothing 
 but listen to Mr. Bentham's instructions during his 
 
 of Stanhope, and to wish me to entertain a good opinion of your- 
 self, make yourself the proposition, my Luriottis, of replacing 
 the name of Stanhope where it was before. 
 
 " Unfortunately, if he Avere the contrary of what every body 
 knows him to be, you would risk very little by acceding to this 
 proposition, for I have very little hope that he can remain in 
 Greece. Being one of ten children, who are all living, the 
 moderate fortune which his virtue has permitted him to make 
 in India, would be insufficient for his maintenance without his 
 pay of a Colonel, and it has been just signified that if, for what 
 he had done or had wished to do for the cause of the Greeks, 
 the Holy Alliance should happen to require his deprivation, he 
 would not fail to be deprived of his rank, in order to preserve 
 the promised neutrality. Now, it is certain, that it is some time 
 since Stanhope's elder brother wrote him a pressing letter; so 
 that every day one of the things which I fear most is to see him 
 in my arms. 
 
 " For the rest, do with respect to him what you think proper ; 
 you will not have the least resentment to fear on his part, for he 
 is incapable of it. 
 
 * * ****** 
 
 " Ever your affectionate father, 
 
 "Jeremy Bentham." 
 
EFFECTS ON THE GREEK COMMITTEE. 241 
 
 whole life. It is, indeed, much to be regretted that 
 the injudicious zeal of Mr. Bentham's friends 
 should have led them to say one word of the harm- 
 less sallies of the poet ; and it is still more to be 
 regretted that the intervention of these friends 
 should have placed two men before the public in 
 opposition, both of whom have wished to benefit 
 mankind, though they have taken different roads 
 to accomplish the same object. 
 
 There is another reason for which it is right to 
 allude to this letter of Colonel Stanhope's. Lord 
 Byron thought he had too much reason to com- 
 plain of the conduct of the Greek committee to 
 wards him. The person who chiefly managed the 
 affairs of that committee was Mr. Bowring. To 
 him this correspondence of Colonel Stanhope was 
 addressed; and do such imputations as we find 
 in this letter of their confidential agent afford no 
 clue to their neglect of Lord Byron? What must 
 we think of a man who thus writes home to poison 
 the ear of that committee through its honorary 
 secretary ; and who, not confining himself to the 
 affairs of Greece, endeavours to enlist the prejudices 
 of this secretary against Lord Byron, by accus- 
 ing him of Anti-Benthamism? I might ask, is this 
 honourable in a confidential agent? Is it right in 
 a man engaged in a public cause, thus to injure 
 it through the sides of its most zealous and disin- 
 
 it 
 
242 DATE OF COLONEL STANHOPE'S ATTACK. 
 
 terested defender? There is, I should suppose, 
 not one man who can approve of Colonel Stanhope's 
 ever writing such a letter to such a person. The 
 plain object of the paragraph I have quoted, and 
 on the Greek Committee it would certainly have 
 the wished-for effect, is, to excite a belief that Lord 
 Byron is an enemy to liberal principles, or as 
 Colonel Stanhope describes him, a mere Turk. 
 
 But if it were wrong to write such a letter, what 
 must we think of the straight-forward soldier, as 
 he has been called, who publishes it after the 
 person he accuses is dead ? It was written T know 
 during Lord Byron's life-time, but it was made 
 public only after his death ; — after Colonel 
 Stanhope, as one of the mourners, had followed Lord 
 Byron's corpse to its last home. In the very passage 
 in which Colonel Stanhope censures Lord Byron, 
 for laughing at the oddities of an old man, he him- 
 self vilifies his departed friend. Would Colonel 
 Stanhope have published such a letter in Lord 
 Byron's life-time ? Would he even have imputed 
 bullying or illiberality to Lord Byron? I think not ; 
 but I am sure if he had done either, Lord Byron 
 would have made him answer for it. Colonel Stan- 
 hope, I believe, would not have dared to have pub- 
 lished such aletter had Lord Byron been alive ; and, 
 from a scene I shall presently relate, I am con- 
 vinced he never could have accused Lord Byron 
 
WHAT LORD BYRON DID. 243 
 
 to his face of acting in a bullying manner. It is 
 very easy for Colonel Stanhope to talk big ; did he 
 act in a corresponding manner ? 
 
 Fortunately, though Lord Byron is no more, we 
 may judge betwixt him and Colonel Stanhope, on 
 the testimony of the Colonel himself. " Our 
 principles are diametrically opposite," says the 
 Colonel to Lord Byron: "Judge me by my acts," 
 said Lord Byron to Colonel Stanhope. Let us 
 adopt this criterion. Let us judge Byron by his 
 acts ; and let us shew by Stanhope's acts, that his 
 principles were opposite to those of Lord Byron. 
 
 Lord Byron gave up his whole time and his 
 whole income to the service of the Greeks. He 
 did not stipulate on what conditions he would 
 assist them ; he knew them to be an oppressed 
 and an outraged people ; he knew their cause 
 was good, and he supported it with his heart and 
 soul. He prescribed no form of government to 
 them ; he made no boast of what he had done ; he 
 lent them his purse and his sword, and his best 
 counsels when they were asked. But why should 
 I repeat what Lord Byron did ; every deed of his 
 is already known ; not so those of Colonel 
 Stanhope, and to make the comparison, we must 
 bring them before the reader. 
 
 "Colonel Stanhope," says Mr. Bentham, "con- 
 secrates to the cause of the Greeks two-thirds of 
 his moderate income!" Begging Mr. Bentham s 
 
 K2 
 
244 WHAT COLONEL STANHOPE DID. 
 
 pardon for disputing his assertion, I think he 
 ought to have said, to the support of Colonel 
 Stanhope's and my whims. We are not, however, 
 deficient in accurate accounts of what sums the 
 Colonel spent, and for what he spent them. He 
 has taken care to furnish the world with an ac- 
 count of his vast exertions. Unwilling that the ser- 
 vices he rendered the Greeks should be unknown; 
 he put them all down, and among them his ex- 
 penses, in the book which he published, and from 
 it I make the following extract : 
 
 Subscriptions on my own account. 
 
 To fourteen refugee Greeks conveyed from Ancona £. s. d. 
 to Cephalonia - - - - - -700 
 
 To the formation and support of a Greek artillery 
 
 corps - - - - - - -100 oo 
 
 To a courier for circulating the Prospectus of the 
 
 Greek Chronicle - - - - -200 
 
 Loan of 100/. to Mavrocordato, on account of the 
 Greek fleet. This money was repaid. 
 
 Passage for presses, medicines, &c, from Misso- 
 
 longhi to Cranidi - - - - -500 
 
 Paid Lieutenant Klempe for going from Athens to 
 Napoli to get Colocotroni to restore the Com- 
 mittee's stores - - - - -200 
 
 Paid to a Greek courier for the same object - 3 
 
 Paid to a Lieutenant Klempe for going from Athens 
 to Missolonghi, and returning with a lithogra- 
 phic press, &c. - - - - -700 
 
 Carried up - - 126 
 
£. 
 
 $. 
 
 d 
 
 26 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 HIS EXPENSES. 245 
 
 Brought forward 
 Paid to Lieutenant Klempe to instruct in the art of 
 
 lithography ------ 
 
 Paid to Jacobi, ditto, ditto 
 
 Paid for conveying presses, medicines, &c, from 
 
 Napoli to iEgina - - - - -200 
 To Dr. Ti nd all for a dispensary at Athens, when 
 
 established - 
 To Dr. Meyer for the Greek Telegraph 
 To ditto Greek Chronicle 
 
 To the Editor of the Athens Free Press 
 To the Editor of the " Ami des Loix" 
 To the Editor of the Ipsara Gazette, when published 50 
 To the Philo-Muse Society at Athens 
 To the Lancasterian School at Athens 
 To the Lancasterian School at Missolonghi, when 
 
 established ------ 
 
 Towards the expenses of a Post, Avhen established 
 To paper for printing the Greek Constitution 
 
 Subscribed by me to the Greek cause - £497 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 
 
 () 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 In this whole list, the two first articles only have 
 any relation to the cause of the Greeks, and they 
 cost the Colonel c£.107, all the rest of the money 
 was spent to gratify Colonel Stanhope's whims, in 
 opposition to the Greek government; much of 
 what he spent had the effect of promoting distur- 
 bance and discord, and did more injury than 
 benefit to the cause of the Greeks. 
 
 During the whole time Colonel Stanhope was 
 in Greece, he was continually and perpetually 
 directing the Greeks what they ought to do. " I 
 
246 CONGE d'elire to the government. 
 
 have advised," he says, " that Odysseus should be 
 placed in the executive; Ipsilante, as president of the 
 Legislative body ; General Colliopulo as minister 
 of war, and Negris as Ministre d'etat. This is a 
 question on which men may fairly differ, but on 
 which my mind is made up." Mark this, reader, 
 " my mind," Colonel Stanhope's mind, the repre- 
 sentative of the Greek Committee, is made up, 
 and, therefore, he tells a nation whom it is to choose 
 for its rulers. If any individual wanted to be 
 king in Greece, though without the name, it was 
 Colonel Stanhope. He pretended, indeed, to 
 govern on his liberal principles ; but despotism 
 only consists in an individual having every thing 
 his own way ; which is precisely what Colonel Stan- 
 hope wanted. There was in Greece a young man 
 of the name of Humphreys, who appeared to me 
 to know nothing, either of Greece or of the art of 
 war or of government. To this youth did Colonel 
 Stanhope give a letter of instructions, such as 
 never before probably graced the annals of inter- 
 fering diplomacy. It is so good a specimen of 
 Colonel Stanhope's mode of interfering that I must 
 lay some part of it before the reader ; though I 
 cannot make him sensible of half its folly unless 
 he is acquainted with the person to whom it is 
 addressed. 
 
INSTRUCTIONS TO MR. HUMPHREYS. "2i<7 
 
 " Zantc, 20th May, 1824. 
 
 " Dear Humphreys, 
 
 " I accept, with thankfulness, your offer 
 to proceed to the seat of the Greek government. 
 I know that your zeal is quicker than my pen, 
 that you will be ready before these instruc- 
 tions. 
 
 " The principal object of your mission is, to 
 prepare every thing for the ensuing campaign ; to 
 obtain such information connected with the loan, 
 as will enable the commissioners to act on their 
 arrival in Greece ; and to endeavour to persuade 
 the people and the government to put the consti- 
 tution of the Greek republic in force. It is im- 
 possible for me, in a moment, to range over this 
 wide field; I shall, however, give you some hints 
 to act upon. 
 
 " 1. I wish you to read over your plan for the 
 ensuing campaign to the executive and legislative 
 bodies, and to have every article of it well debated. 
 This done, be pleased to call upon the govern- 
 ment for their sentiments on this vital question. 
 
 " 2. Desire the government to give you an es- 
 timate of the expense of their military and naval 
 forces, for the year 1824. 
 
 " 3. Request of the government to state what 
 part of the loan they propose to devote to the 
 above purpose. 
 
 " 4. Point out to the government the necessity of 
 
248 INSTRUCTIONS TO MR. HUMPHREYS. 
 
 adhering to the law they have passed, prohibiting 
 the payment of old debts from the loan. 
 
 " 5. Press upon the government the necessity 
 of getting the revenues of the state placed in the 
 public coffers. 
 
 "11. Advise the government to employ a clever 
 military officer, near the seat of administra- 
 tion, to give them information and counsel in 
 military affairs. Also, to form a corps of 300 ar- 
 tillery-men, for the attack and defence of for- 
 tresses, and another of 1,000 regular troops, to be 
 quartered at the seat of government. 
 
 " 12. Desire the government, to inform you in 
 detail, what they require for the sieges of Patras, 
 Negropont, Lepanto, &c. Recommend them to 
 send round Baron Gilman or Lieut, Kindennann 
 to the fortresses, to make a report on their condi- 
 tion, how they are provisioned, and what cannon, 
 mortars, powder, shot, shells, &c, they possess. 
 
 " 13. Speak to the government about Missolon- 
 ghi. Impress upon their minds the necessity of 
 giving the Suliots a home, — of providing for the 
 widows and orphans of those who have fallen in 
 the good fight, — of giving assurance, that their 
 arrears shall be hereafter paid, and of furnishing 
 them with regular pay for the future. Unless the 
 government adopt this measure, they had better at 
 once turn this treacherous enemy out of their 
 camp, and declare war against them. 
 
 " 11. Urge the government to endeavour to 
 
INSTRUCTIONS TO MR. HUMPHREYS. 249 
 
 create dissensions among the Turks, the Egyptians, 
 the Albanians, &c. Let them publish a list of all 
 the wrongs and oppressions which these people 
 suffer under Turkish dominion, and then call upon 
 them to state whether it is for the preservation of 
 such curses that they arc to risk their heads and 
 their fortunes. 
 
 " 15. Call to the attention of the government 
 the plan of Captain Hastings for a steam-boat, 
 Tell them that it would prove eminently useful in 
 frightening away the Turks from the blockade of 
 the Corinthian gulf, of the fortresses in Negro- 
 pont, &c. 
 
 " 16. Explain Captain Trclawny's plan to the 
 government. Let them endeavour to get some 
 English or American privateers, to harass the 
 Turkish ships and their coasts. 
 
 " 17. Demonstrate to the legislative body the 
 necessity of their assuming a high station in the 
 republic, and recommend them to have their pro- 
 ceedings published. 
 
 " 18. Desire the government to send to Athens 
 for the lithographic press, the moment some one 
 is instructed by Mr. Gropius or Gill, in the art of 
 printing with it. 
 
 " 19. Tell the government and the legislative 
 body that I am ready to establish my post imme- 
 diately, and that Dr. Marcies is to conduct it. 
 No delays on this head. Marcies will be at the 
 scat of government in a fortnight. 
 
250 INSTRUCTIONS TO MR. HUMPHREYS. 
 
 " 20. Declaim boldly before the legislative and 
 executive bodies against the traitors who, while 
 they profess to be Hes Amis des Loix,' are slyly plot- 
 ting against the republic. I allude to those who 
 are conspiring in the dark to place a foreign king 
 over the Greek people. 
 
 "21. Prove to the representatives of the com- 
 monwealth, the necessity of coalescing and forming 
 an administration, comprising all the various in- 
 terests of the state. Urge them to act on the prin- 
 ciples of the constitution, and of the greatest good 
 of the greatest number. 
 
 " 22. Desire the government to instruct the 
 editors of papers to send their sheets to all the 
 Prefects. The government should pay the prime 
 cost of the said papers — say one dollar a year for 
 each paper sent to each Prefect. Desire the go- 
 vernment also to solicit the editors to declaim 
 against all extortion and intrigue, and against the 
 violators of the laws and of the constitution. 
 
 " 23. Advise the government to send Kalergy 
 and Mr. Finlay on a mission to America." 
 
 Supposing Captain Humphreys could have acted 
 on such a letter, I may boldly say there never was 
 a government so treated by an individual, who had 
 devoted to its service the enormous sum of 497/. 
 Sir Thomas Maitland was not half so imperative 
 and commanding as Colonel Stanhope. There is 
 scarcely an act which Mr. Humphreys, a person 
 
STANHOPE'S readiness TO LEAVE GREECE. 251 
 
 invested with no official character, is not instructed 
 to prescribe. Demonstrate this to the legislature, 
 prove that to the executive. We can see from 
 other sources, besides Colonel Stanhope's letter to 
 Mr. Bowring, already quoted, that he knew what 
 bullying was. Poor Byron ! he indeed fell in evil 
 times, and among evil men, when the assertions 
 of a man, such as Colonel Stanhope here shews 
 himself to be, were allowed to weigh against him. 
 Lord Byron perished rather than he would leave 
 Greece ; Colonel Stanhope, when he had done 
 nearly all the evil possible, quitted it the very in- 
 stant he was commanded to do so by his masters, 
 and when he might possibly, had he stayed, 
 have made some arrangements for placing the 
 proceeds of the loan in the hands of government, 
 and have saved Ipsara. He quitted it too after 
 the following exhortation had been addressed 
 to him : " I call on you, in the name of Greece, 
 to do all you can to fill his (Lord Byron's) 
 place. I say you can do the greatest service 
 to the cause, and you must not leave us ; you 
 are public property, and must sacrifice all pri- 
 vate duties and ties*.'' But Colonel Stanhope, 
 the friend of Mr. Bentham, the great advocate, 
 on paper, of unbounded freedom, was in his 
 conduct so willingly a military machine, so per- 
 fectly the creature of passive obedience, that 
 * Letter from Captain Trelawny to Colonel Stanhope. 
 
252 HIS PASSIVE OBEDIENCE. 
 
 all his love for liberty vanished into nothing at 
 the mandate of the Duke of York, or the chance 
 of encountering His Majesty's displeasure. To 
 save his 400/. a year, he eagerly hastened to shew 
 that he thought no principles sacred, no conduct 
 honourable, but that of rigid and prompt obedience 
 to military orders. This is very proper in a mer- 
 cenary soldier, but when he puts on the red coat, 
 and accepts the enlistment money, resolving to do 
 every thing that he is bid, he lays aside the best 
 characteristics of a man, and ought to claim nothing 
 for himself beyond the mere praise of being a good 
 machine. Well might Colonel Stanhope say to 
 Lord Byron, " Our principles are diametrically op- 
 posite." If we judge them both by their acts, we 
 shall be completely convinced of this truth. I feel 
 ashamed, however, that I am compelled, by the 
 decisions of other persons, to institute any com- 
 parison between two men who seem to have had 
 nothing in common but the name and form. It is 
 like comparing the soaring eagle with the chatter- 
 ing pie, or the monarch of the forest with those 
 animals which have no means of attack or defence 
 but the ordure they scatter. 
 
 What Greece lost by Lord Byron's death is, 
 perhaps, inappreciable. " His name," says Captain 
 Trelawny, " was the means of chiefly raising the 
 loan in England. Thousands of people were 
 flocking here (Greece) ; some had arrived as far 
 
WHAT GREECE LOST IN LORD BYRON. 253 
 
 as Corfu, and, hearing of his death, confessed 
 they came out to devote their fortunes, not to the 
 Greeks, or interest (themselves) in the Greek cause, 
 but to the noble poet ; and the pilgrim of eternity 
 having departed, they turned back." While I was 
 on the quarantine house at Zante, a gentleman 
 called on me, and made numerous inquiries as to 
 Lord Byron. He said he was only one of fourteen 
 English gentlemen, then at Ancona, who had sent 
 him on to obtain intelligence, and only waited his 
 return to come and join Lord Byron. They were 
 to form a mounted guard for him, and meant to 
 devote their personal services and their incomes 
 to the Greek cause. On hearing of Lord Byron's 
 death, however, they turned back, because they 
 felt in the divided and distracted state of Greece, 
 there was little chance even of safety, and it was 
 impossible to serve her. 
 
 The supplies which, before his death, had 
 been obtained from the Ionian islands, could 
 no longer be procured on the same terms. The 
 money once raised there for the service of the 
 Greeks was instantly refused ; and one person who 
 was negotiating for a loan was obliged to give it 
 up the instant Lord Byron's death was known. 
 His mere existence was a guarantee for the suc- 
 cess of the Greeks, and for their keeping their 
 engagements, and with his death the guarantee 
 both of success and of justice was lost. 
 
254 WHAT GREECE LOST IN COLONEL STANHOPE. 
 
 What Greece lost by Colonel Stanhope's absence 
 it is not easy to say ; this can only be known when 
 it has been ascertained what she gained by his 
 presence. So blind are the quick-sighted Greeks 
 to any benefits he conferred on them, that, report 
 says, he is not blessed in their churches, nor re- 
 membered in their prayers. They were glad that 
 he removed, for had he perished in Greece, his 
 death might have made them enemies in Europe, 
 had it not even armed every civilized state against 
 them. 
 
 The scene which a few pages ago I said I should 
 relate was this. At Missolonghi there were some 
 medicines and other stores which had been sent 
 by the Quakers for the service of the Greeks. 
 They had not been then delivered into the power 
 of the Greek government, or to any agents ap- 
 pointed by it. They were, however, placed at 
 the disposal of the commissioners, to be delivered 
 to the Greek government. Colonel Stanhope, on 
 the eve of his departure from Missolonghi, wished 
 to take the half of these medicines and stores with 
 him, not to deliver into the power of the Greek 
 government, but to place them in the hands of 
 some of those chiefs who were not very much 
 trusted by the government. To such a proceeding 
 Lord Byron strongly objected. Dr. Milligan also 
 stated to him the inconvenience of suffering it. 
 He said the medicines would be injured by being 
 
SCENE BETWEEN BYRON AND STANHOPE. 255 
 
 unpacked and exposed to the air ; and that here- 
 after, when bottles and such things were prepared, 
 they might be distributed without danger or loss, 
 and sent by some safe conveyance which did not 
 then offer. Lord Byron knew all this, and had 
 represented to Colonel Stanhope that the convoy 
 would either be taken by the Turks or by Colo- 
 cotroni ; Colonel Stanhope was, however, ob- 
 stinate, and words ran so high that I was not sure 
 Lord Byron would not have challenged him. 
 Knowing that Lord Byron would listen to any 
 thing rational, I interfered, and undertook to have 
 the medicines properly packed and indulge Colonel 
 Stanhope in his whim of distributing one-third of 
 them. This was accordingly done, and he sent 
 them off, but, as had been predicted by Lord 
 Byron, they were taken possession of by Coloco- 
 troni, and some of the items in Colonel Stanhope's 
 expenditure arose from this capture. I put it to 
 the reader, when Lord Byron was so ready to re- 
 sent such an interference of Colonel Stanhope, 
 would he have allowed this dictatorial gentle- 
 man to say to him all which he has boasted of 
 having said in his letter to Mr. Bo wring ? 
 
 I beg also that the reader will remark the con- 
 sequence of the Greek committee having two 
 agents or commissioners in Greece with undefined 
 powers. Lord Byron was regarded as first com- 
 missioner, but the brightness of Colonel Stan- 
 
256 EFFECTS OF TWO COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 hope's glory would have heen wholly obscured 
 by acting under Lord Byron. He would play a 
 part of his own. Lord Byron acted strictly in con- 
 junction with the Greek government, and with its 
 representative in Western Greece, Prince Mavro- 
 cordato. Colonel Stanhope acted in conjunction 
 with nobody, and in opposition to the govern- 
 ment. His own thoughts, wishes, and theories, 
 were the only rules he consulted. Hence the dis- 
 putes about the medicines, about the printing 
 press, the newspapers, &c. &c, on all which sub- 
 jects Byron did but second the views of the Greek 
 government, while Stanhope opposed them, fol- 
 lowing nothing but his own suggestions. Thus, 
 in consequence of having two commissioners, there 
 arose two English as well as several Greek parties, 
 and the sources of dispute and discord were mul- 
 tiplied. 
 
 It has been said, that in his conduct in Greece 
 Lord Byron shewed much less consistency than 
 Colonel Stanhope. This accusation was founded 
 on the report of Colonel Stanhope ; but how very 
 unjustly, has been shewn at every page of this 
 work. As far as an invariable unsparing attach- 
 ment to the press, whether lithographic or print- 
 ing,and to schools, whetherChrestomathicorLan- 
 casterian is concerned, I do not doubt that Colonel 
 Stanhope was more consistent than Lord Byron. 
 Even as far as theories of government were the 
 
LORD BYRON NOT A ZEALOT. 257 
 
 objects in dispute, the words and reasoning of 
 Colonel Stanhope were probably more logical 
 than those of his opponent. But zealots are always 
 consistent as far as that object is concerned, in 
 favour of which they are zealots. They see 
 nothing else ; they look neither to the right nor 
 left, and pursue that one thing unsparingly and 
 with undivided attention. 
 
 Lord Byron was no zealot for either a press or 
 a system of education. He did not take that one 
 narrow view which is dictated by short-sighted 
 passion; he could weigh and judge the circum- 
 stances relative to a press and to schools ; and 
 though he might in the first instance have sub- 
 scribed money for a Journal, he was not like the 
 man to whom he was opposed, blind to every conse- 
 quence of such an instrument; and if he sometimes 
 doubted of its utility, it was because, like all men 
 of sound judgment, he took a comprehensive view, 
 and that judgment was accessible to the influence 
 of circumstances. He was, probably, persuaded 
 in the first instance by the zealots for a free press 
 to go along with them, and they afterwards blamed 
 him because he was not as blind as they were to 
 its consequences. They went on theory and 
 hypothesis, and were influenced by a name — he 
 decided by circumstances, and judged of things as 
 they arose. He forsook the path their fervour had 
 pointed out, and for this he is loudly condemned 
 
258 HIS CONSISTENCY AND SERIOUSNESS. 
 
 as inconsistent. This may be granted ; but his 
 opponents have gained their advantages, because 
 they were in this particular instance zealots, and 
 he was not. 
 
 But was Lord Byron then zealous in no cause ? 
 yes; in the cause of Greece, and herein his conduct 
 for consistency will square with that of any man. 
 He never forsook that cause ; he promoted it by 
 his money and his exertions. Knowing how much 
 humanity would recommend the Greeks inEurope, 
 he inculcated it by his precepts and his example. 
 He gave uphis time to Greece ; gave up his society, 
 and lived and laboured with men he despised, to 
 promote its welfare. Herein he was a zealot, and 
 herein his consistency is surpassed, not only by 
 none of his personal opponents, but by no man 
 who ever breathed. 
 
 I have already said that Lord Byron was with 
 me generally sedate and serious ; with other com- 
 panions he indulged in whims and pranks ; with 
 them also he talked on a variety of frivolous things 
 greatly to his own disadvantage, the loss of his 
 time, and the injury of the public service. The 
 only altercations I ever had with him arose out 
 of these proceedings. Such conversations fre- 
 quently terminated in disputes, and gave many 
 opportunities for Lord Byron to indulge in those 
 gusts of passion with which he was unfortunately 
 too familiar. Naturally, he was benevolent, kind, 
 
JUDGMENT FOR TRIPLING. 259 
 
 and serious ; but he was acutely sensible to the 
 praise of mankind, and his own character took the 
 colour of the medium in which he lived. I have 
 seen him walk backwards and forwards in his 
 apartment for hours together, talking rapidly and 
 almost incessantly the whole time with Mr. Findlay 
 or Mr. Fowke, or some other person of the same 
 light and frivolous cast. I then occasionally re- 
 monstrated at such an employment of his time, 
 but he always replied this sort of nonsense was 
 necessary. It was in these conversations, that 
 his wish to shine, to say smart things, or to tell a 
 good story, carried him beyond the bounds of dis- 
 cretion, and led him to exaggerate if not to invent. 
 My advice, as circumstances have shewn, was 
 judicious. In such conversations were those stories 
 collected, which, since his death, have been cir- 
 culated so much to the disadvantage of his memory. 
 Never did the words of a man, uttered in the hour 
 of confidence and mirth, uttered, also, it is proba- 
 ble, without any meaning, beyond that idle sort of 
 jesting and rhodomontade, too common among his 
 companions, so rise up in judgment against him. I 
 have heard him so often indulge in language, 
 similar to that which is reported by Mr. Medwin, 
 that what he has stated appears to wear an air of 
 truth, and should, perhaps, when rightly con- 
 sidered, operate as a warning against indulging in 
 idle talk. 
 
 S2 
 
260 SOURCE OF LORD BYRON'S ERRORS. 
 
 To all plain men, such as I am, it will probably 
 appear as it did to me, that the exalted birth, and 
 consequent neglected moral training of Lord 
 Byron, were his greatest misfortunes. He never 
 conquered the mischievous prejudices, and the 
 more mischievous mental habits which they led 
 to. He was a nobleman, an only son, and a 
 spoiled, neglected child. He had to suffer from 
 all these circumstances, and derived a consider- 
 able share of his unhappiness from each. To 
 almost every thing which could nurture vice in the 
 human heart he was early and unfortunately long 
 exposed. He was of a rank above control ; possess- 
 ed money and was an orphan ; then came fame, not 
 gradually and hardly earned, but at once, and over- 
 whelming ; and bestowed probably for what he had 
 thrown off in some bright and happy and delightful 
 moments. He wasjso felicitous in his language, so 
 quick in thought, that writing to him was not labour 
 but pleasure. He was not only a poet, but, like 
 other young noblemen, he was, for several years, 
 a man of what is called fashion, and ton, and the 
 opinions which he then imbibed, and the habits 
 he then formed, he never afterwards got rid of. 
 He deferred to them in his conversation and his 
 manners, long after he hadlearned to despise them 
 in his heart. Naturally, like most men of very 
 exalted genius, he was contemplative, and loved 
 solitude rather than society. At least, in all our 
 
HIS RESPECT FOR OPINION, w 261 
 
 conversations, his Lordship was serious and re- 
 flecting, though wonderfully quick, acute, and 
 discerning. With his other companions he was, 
 as I have said, light, volatile, and trifling. He 
 was still the man of fashion. Then the opinions 
 and habits of his former days again obtained all 
 their mastery over his mind. His commanding 
 talents, his noble endowments, and his rare ac- 
 quirements were then all sacrificed on the altar of 
 fashionable frivolity. He had felt how dreadfully 
 wearying are the serious triflers of the world, and 
 his companions being unable to comprehend his 
 more exalted thoughts, he let himself down to 
 their level, and again became an unthinking, talk- 
 ing trifler. To use, perhaps a homely proverb, 
 he " howled with the wolves," and has been re- 
 presented as vain, overbearing, gasconading, 
 violent, unreflecting, capricious, and heartless, 
 because these are too much the characteristics of 
 the class to which he belonged, and of the indivi- 
 duals with whom he associated, and who reported 
 of him. His noble and devoted enthusiasm in the 
 cause of liberty ; his courage, endearing him even 
 to the rude Suliotes ; his generosity, which never 
 allowed him to leave one want or one woe un- 
 relieved he could mitigate ; the humanity which 
 made him sacrifice time and money and ease to 
 soothe the sorrows of the unhappy prisoners, have 
 all at times been forgotten, and he has been held 
 
262 HIS VICES THOSE OP HIS CLA.SS. 
 
 up to the censure of the world by heartless and 
 pretended friends, who were quite unable to ap- 
 preciate all the nobleness of his character. 
 
 Even in that particular, in which perhaps he is 
 most censurable, the mockery and scorn with 
 which he sometimes treated the dull routine of 
 domestic life, and the matrimonial and domestic 
 virtues, he was but the expounder of the practices 
 of that class of society to which he belonged, 
 though having somewhat more of hypocrisy 
 than he had, they do not so openly state their 
 opinions. In his lighter poems, which have been 
 so much censured, no other virtues but these are 
 ridiculed. His scorn of cant and hypocrisy, both 
 in them and in his various conversations, was un- 
 measured. The deep affection he shewed for his 
 daughter, whom he hardly knew, and for his wife, 
 who seems scarcely to have loved him with that 
 ardent, cherished, and patient affection he de- 
 served, convinced me that he would have been 
 the most devoted of husbands and the best of 
 fathers, had he not been corrupted by the vices of 
 his station and education ; or had he found a 
 woman capable of appreciating and allowing for 
 their unhappy consequences. But Lady Byron is 
 herself a young woman of fashion, and con- 
 sequently entertains many of those opinions, and 
 has been formed on those habits notoriously de- 
 structive of conjugal happiness. She is apparently 
 
HIS BIRTH HIS MISFORTUNE. 263 
 
 also more imbued with the dogmas than the charity 
 of religion. His Lordship, therefore, was never 
 weaned nor reclaimed from the follies he had 
 learned as a young spoiled lord ; and to this, and 
 this alone, must be attributed his neglect of some 
 domestic virtues, and the mockery he sometimes 
 throws on our national pretensions to female 
 chastity. He j udged of the world as he had found 
 it in salons. When he saw, as he has declared to 
 me, five women visiting his wife in one day as 
 friends, with all of whom he had been before in- 
 triguing, and all of high reputation in the world ; 
 not outcasts, not banished from society, could he 
 possibly form an exalted idea of female virtue? and 
 was he to blame if he laughed to scorn the pre- 
 tensions so frequently put forth by English writers, 
 that we are the most virtuous and chaste of 
 nations ? It was his misfortune, I repeat, to be 
 nobly born : had that spirit, which so much 
 needed guidance, and was so apt to take impres- 
 sions, been rightly directed in its youthful and 
 green state ; had it met with any thing like con- 
 genial spirits, or been matured in the calm and 
 well-ordered families of the middle ranks, it would 
 never have been polluted with some trifling spots, 
 which, in the minds of those who rightly value 
 nothing but domestic virtues, have done his cha- 
 racter irreparable injury. Unfortunately, his 
 enemies, and those who have spoken against him 
 
264 APOLOGY FOR HIS ERRORS. 
 
 with most zeal and talent, have been taken from 
 the middling classes. Possessing and praising the 
 virtues he wanted, and overlooking or incapable 
 of feeling those he possessed, they have most un- 
 fairly and unjustly censured him for not being 
 like themselves ; and for wanting that species of 
 self-command, and that conformity to the national 
 model, which are only the results of a situation he 
 was unfortunately never placed in. 
 
265 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 CONDUCT OF COLONEL STANHOPE, AND OF THE 
 GREEK COMMITTEE TO THE GREEKS. 
 
 Important consequences of Colonel Stanhopes proceedings — His attacks 
 on me — The Greek Committee invited to investigate them — He en- 
 gages in opposition to the Greek government — Goes to Greece to 
 regenerate it — His qualities for a legislator — Greece to be regenerated 
 on Mr. Bentham's principles, and by force — Engages individuals to 
 write against the British government, and implicates the committee 
 and the Greeks in the same hostility — Does what he can to involve 
 them in disputes with the Holy Alliance — His favourable opinion of 
 Mavrocordato — Attachment of the Greeks to the prince — Change in 
 Colonel Stanhope's opinion — Source of the change — His abuse of the 
 prince — The prince opposes his whims — Former situation of Odys- 
 seus — An object of suspicion to the government — Is favored by Capt. 
 Trelawney and Col. Stanhope — Sudden change in the opinion of 
 the latter — Odysseus natters Colonel Stanhope — The Colonel wants 
 to put power into his hands — Intrigues to break up the brigade — Sus- 
 picions entertained of Colonel Stanhope — Intercepted letter of 
 Sophianopulo — Captain Trelawney's recommendation to break up 
 the brigade — Colonel Stanhope's order for this purpose — In what 
 respect opposed to the wishes of Lord Byron— Letter of Mavrocor- 
 dato — Colonel Stanhope sets up a new race of Pachas — Colonel 
 Stanhope's right to break up the brigade questioned — Formed by 
 Lord Byron, and placed by him and the committee under Prince 
 Mavrocordato_My instructions on this head — Insulting- language of 
 Colonel Stanhope— Source of our authority for being in Greece — 
 Conclusion that Colonel Stanhope had no right to break up the 
 brigade — His improper mode of transmitting orders for this purpose 
 
266 colonel stanhope's proceedings. 
 
 —Cessation of my services under the Greek Committee — Charge 
 against Colonel Stanhope of injuring- the Greek cause, and insulting 
 the memory of Lord Byron proved — His injudicious conduct as to the 
 war — Anger of the Greeks — His encouragement to adventurers — In 
 what manner the Committee are to blame for approving Colonel 
 Stanhope's proceedings — Vote of approbation — Conclusion. 
 
 In the last chapter I shewed what an immeasur- 
 able distance there was between Lord Byron and 
 the soldier who has censured him. That soldier 
 was, however, the agent of the Greek committee, 
 and could scarcely differ from, or ill-treat the most 
 enlightened and zealous friend of the Greek cause 
 without injuring that cause ; and that he did injure 
 it is what I mean now to shew. It is impossible 
 that the people of England, who so generously 
 subscribed their money to aid the Greeks, can see 
 with indifference the manner in which that has 
 been employed. It is impossible, also, that this 
 country, which, by supplying the Greeks with 
 money as a loan, has become deeply interested in 
 their success, can see with indifference any man or 
 set of men amongst ourselves pursuing a series of 
 measures, calculated in my apprehension to ruin 
 Greece. I am personally concerned in this mat- 
 ter, for it was through me and through the brigade 
 I commanded, that Colonel Stanhope both in- 
 sulted the memory of Lord Byron, and injured 
 the cause of the Greeks. It was not enough, also, 
 for this doughty Colonel to impugn the Greeks 
 
HIS ATTACKS ON ME. 267 
 
 and to regulate their government, to censure Lord 
 Byron and usurp his power, butlie must even, to 
 his other attacks add an attack on me, humble as 
 I am. In his work on Greece, I am accused, at 
 page 174, of thwarting the Colonel's benevolent 
 views as to printing prospectuses ; at page 215, I 
 am accused of "not satisfactorily accounting for 
 certain sums of money placed in my hands by the 
 Greek committee ;" at page 224, I am accused of 
 " swaggering and blustering ;" and at page 184, 1 
 am described as going about with my eyes and 
 hands up, crying, "Horrible, horrible ; a conspiracy 
 is formed against the government, and an English- 
 man, Leicester Stanhope, is at the head of it." 
 
 I quote these passages to shew that I am not 
 the original assailant ; I do not, however, mean 
 here to enter into any vindication of my conduct ; 
 if my employers, the Greek committee, are not 
 satisfied with it, and with the account I have given 
 them of the money intrusted to me, they have 
 redress in their power. I have asked for investi- 
 gation, I have supplicated them to meet me. Why 
 have they not done it ? Mr. Bowring can proba- 
 bly answer ; but neither he nor any other person 
 can say that I have avoided investigation, or re- 
 fused to enter into the fullest explanation of my 
 proceedings. Colonel Stanhope is a member of that 
 committee ; why has he not procured a public in- 
 vestigation, and caused a public exposure ? Why 
 has he, in the insidious passage quoted above, and 
 
268 ACCUSATIONS REFUTED. 
 
 published to the world, laboured to cast a stigma 
 on the reputation of a man who has nothing but 
 his labour and his character by which to gain his 
 subsistence ? If I were like Colonel Stanhope, a 
 pensioner on the country, I might be regardless 
 of public opinion ; but I know that if I lose my 
 character, I must starve, and, therefore, I have 
 called for investigation. Is it not cruel in Colonel 
 Stanhope, thus to accuse me, while he is one of 
 that body which refuses me all means of vin- 
 dication ? But I repeat, I do not mean here to 
 defend my conduct, though I have thought it right 
 to refer to Colonel Stanhope's public accusation, 
 and to say I have called on the Greek committee 
 to meet me and investigate the whole business. 
 
 The second accusation, of blustering and swag- 
 gering, is one of Colonel Stanhope's usual vague 
 assertions. It is precisely the same accusation he 
 makes against Lord Byron ; so that I only find my- 
 self honoured by his attributing to me a trait of 
 character, common also to that great man. Lord 
 Byron and myself were, I suppose, among the few 
 persons who had the skill to see through the char- 
 latanism of Colonel Stanhope's political regula- 
 tions and pretensions, the good sense not to flat- 
 ter his egregious vanity, and the courage to resist 
 his usurpations. Borrowing a feature, probably, 
 from his own character, he has on this account 
 attributed bullying to one and blustering to the 
 other. He will find, however, as he has already 
 
A CONSPIRACY IN GREECE. 209 
 
 found, that I possess too little of either of these 
 qualities to be frightened by him. 
 
 As to his accusation that I said there was a con- 
 spiracy, and he was at the head of it, I have since, 
 unfortunately, seen no reason to alter the opinion 
 I then had formed ; on the contrary, I here repeat 
 what I then said, and shall state the grounds 
 of my opinion. I trust I shall shew that there 
 was such a conspiracy, that it was conducted by 
 intrigues, that Colonel Stanhope lent his aid to 
 it, and that its object was to destroy the influence 
 of Prince Mavrocordato ; I trust I shall also shew 
 that Colonel Stanhope, by his conduct in this 
 whole business, did incalculable injury to the 
 Greek cause. If I shew this, the public, or at 
 least all that portion of it interested in the suc- 
 cess of the Greeks, and who have subscribed to 
 assist them, will call on the Greek committee to 
 account for that vote of approbation with which 
 they hailed the return of Colonel Stanhope to 
 England. To trace the whole business, I must go 
 a little into detail, and begin at a period antece- 
 dent to my arrival in Greece. 
 
 In the first place, it is quite evident that Colonel 
 Stanhope went out to Greece with the idea of re- 
 generating that country. He almost says as much. 
 " Money is what I want here ; a little from the 
 committee, a little from the Quakers, schools, 
 presses, posts, hospitals ; all will then flourish ; 
 
270 COLONEL STANHOPE A REFORMER. 
 
 elementary books on education, war, agriculture, 
 &c. , newspapers, useful pamphlets, Greek bibles, 
 the monthly repository, medical stores, blankets, 
 bandages, matter for the press, and two school- 
 masters, to teach the Lancasterian system, are all 
 much required. I think, with such means, placed 
 in judicious hands, this nation might be regene- 
 rated." The italics are Colonel Stanhope's own, 
 so that he meant to regenerate Greece by means 
 of two school-masters, and a little money from the 
 Quakers. 
 
 Colonel Stanhope carried in his head plans for 
 organizing the army, regulating the government, 
 establishing schools, setting up newspapers, form- 
 ing utilitarian societies, running mails, instructing 
 the people, reforming the rulers, changing the re- 
 ligion, framing codes of law, regulating judicial 
 proceedings, and in short, for doing every thing. 
 He had a constitution ready cut and dried ; and 
 he set about all these mighty projects with- 
 out any of that previous acquaintance with the 
 Greeks which one might expect would at least 
 be possessed by any man who proposed to legis- 
 late for them. He had indeed been^ in Hindostan, 
 and had such a correct idea of the mode of treat- 
 ing the Greeks, that he recommended the Greek 
 committee to consult Anglo-Indians, in order to 
 ascertain the best means of treating the Greeks. 
 " In all things connected with Greece," he says, 
 
WISHES BENTHAMISM ESTABLISHED. 271 
 
 " consult those Anglo-Indians, who understand 
 the character of Asiatic nations. It is thus that 
 I find myself quite at home in Greece." What 
 knowledge the committee could obtain from these 
 it is difficult to guess, except a knowledge of the 
 means practised so successfully in Hindostan, of 
 reducing nations to slavery, under the guise of 
 being their friends and protectors. 
 
 But mere regeneration was not enough for 
 Colonel Stanhope, it was to be regeneration ac- 
 cording to Mr. Bentham's principles. His doc- 
 trines were recommended to the Greeks on every 
 occasion ; he is called " the first jurist of the age," 
 " the most enlightened man of the most enlighten- 
 ed period of the world," and his books and his 
 writings are pointed out to the Greeks as the 
 guides of life and the sanctuaries of wisdom. I 
 know nothing of Mr. Bentham's principles, and can 
 therefore say nothing of them ; but I do know that 
 they have never yet been reduced to practice. 
 However just they may be abstractedly, they never 
 can be fit for the adoption of any people, (unless 
 they are to be governed by the will of Mr. Ben- 
 tham instead of their own will,) till they know and 
 appreciate them. It is tyranny to impose any 
 code of laws, however admirable in themselves, 
 on any country. Mr. Bentham's principles are not 
 known and appreciated by the Greeks, and there- 
 fore are not proper for their immediate adoption. 
 
272 COL. STANHOPE AN IMPROPER AGENT. 
 
 Never was there a visionary, therefore, less fit to 
 legislate for such a rude country as Greece than 
 Colonel Stanhope, loaded and primed with the le- 
 gislative tenets of Mr. Bentham, and ready to enforce 
 them on the most approved Hindostanee method. 
 This single circumstance would, in every rational 
 man's estimation, have been quite enough to in- 
 duce the Greek committee, which had nothing 
 whatever to do with reforming Greece, and did 
 not require a resident there, such as the East India 
 Company maintains at the courts of its tributary 
 sovereigns, to pause before they sent such a man 
 as their representative. It is, however, to be ap- 
 prehended, that their own plans too much resem- 
 bled those of Colonel Stanhope. In addition, 
 also, to his being a visionary and a theorist, 
 he was a soldier — a man bred up in habits of 
 severe command and rigid obedience. He was a 
 sort of Mussulman legist, ready to thrust freedom 
 down the throats of the common herd of mankind 
 at the point of the sword, and ready both to ex- 
 pound and enforce his theories. It was scarcely 
 possible to have selected a worse description of 
 person to intrust with power. After he had proved 
 by his conduct what were the objects he had in 
 view, the influential and managing members of 
 the Greek committee, being either visionaries like 
 himself, or ignorant of the most common charac- 
 teristics of human nature, and in either case unfit 
 
STANHOPE ATTACKS THE IONIAN GOVERNMENT. 273 
 
 for that high office they had taken on themselves, 
 continued to repose confidence in him, and even 
 honoured him with their approbation. 
 
 As proofs of his unfitness, which must have 
 been known to the Greek committee, for I take 
 them from his own letters addressed to the 
 honorary secretary of that committee for its infor- 
 mation, I shall quote a few specimens of his con- 
 duct. At Milan, he engages a Monsieur M. to 
 write a short historical pamphlet on the conduct of 
 our government in the Ionian islands. " I have re- 
 commended him," he says, "to select a number of 
 strong facts, and to state them in so soft atone that 
 even the sensitive nerves of delicate politicians 
 may not shrink from their perusal. This pamphlet 
 will be sent over to the Greek committee for disper- 
 sion in the newspapers," p. 18. " All public 
 bodies, and eminent men I have conversed with, 
 agree in the expediency of changing the character 
 of the government of the Ionian Islands," p. 23. From 
 Ancona, he tells Mr. Bowring, that a Greek settled 
 there is to send him (of course for the Greek com- 
 mittee) all the acts of mal-administration in the 
 Ionian Islands. Here, then, before we have reached 
 the twentieth page in Colonel Stanhope's book, 
 before he has arrived at Greece, we find him en- 
 gaging in intrigues against the government of the 
 Ionian Islands, and implicating the Greek com- 
 mittee in the same sort of conduct. They were to 
 
 T 
 
274 HIS HOSTILITY TO THE HOLY ALLIANCE. 
 
 be the recipients of the calumnies which could be 
 collected by Mons. M. and the abettors of Colonel 
 Stanhope, in spreading them over the country. 
 Thus did he and the committee do what was in 
 their power to put the Greek cause in hostility 
 with the British government, and that government 
 kindly disposed towards the Greeks, and more 
 than any other capable of benefiting or injuring 
 them. 
 
 When Colonel Stanhope was so little inclined 
 to be prudent towards his own government, which 
 had much power to hurt him, though he probably 
 relied on his family influence for protection, it 
 cannot be expected that he should be more kindly 
 disposed towards Austria, Russia, and the Holy 
 Alliance. Every page of his book shews his hos- 
 tility to these governments. To that hostility no 
 man can object, but it was acting in a most un- 
 friendly manner to the Greeks, to send, as the 
 representative of the English committee, a man 
 who was sure to involve them in disputes with 
 these powers ; who was prompt to act on those 
 feelings of hatred towards the Holy Alliance, 
 which, however justifiable in an Englishman, are 
 quite unsuitable to the Greeks. After seeing such 
 proofs of Colonel Stanhope's hostility to the 
 Austrians, as his book contains, and when we know 
 that the press at Missolonghi was under his con- 
 trol, we are at no loss to account for the origin of 
 
HIS ATTACHMENT TO REVOLUTION. 275 
 
 those attacks, both on the Ionian government, and 
 on the government of Austria, which he so warmly 
 supported, and which gave so much chagrin and 
 uneasiness both to Lord Byron and Prince Mav- 
 rocordato. 
 
 At page 63, we find him recommending the 
 committee to send authors out to Greece ; " men,'* 
 he says, " who could speak French, German, 
 or Italian, and who could write strong articles in 
 plain language, would do incalculable good here." 
 The press was not, therefore, for the Greeks to 
 speak their sentiments to one another, but for 
 foreigners to endoctrine them with those strong 
 articles in plain language, which have stirred up so 
 much strife in some parts of Europe. At page 89, 
 he recommends " the committee to send out a few 
 men of political acquirements to write for the 
 public journals." At another place, they are 
 desired to send out the articles ready written ; so 
 that Colonel Stanhope thought every thing might 
 be done by using the political jargon which is 
 common to political declaimers. 
 
 These partisan feelings, so conspicuous in 
 Colonel Stanhope's book, must have been known 
 to the committee before he reached Missolonghi, 
 and yet they appear to have encouraged him in all 
 his wild schemes ; but particularly in that wildest 
 of all schemes, setting up a press in Greece, by 
 which all the defeated partisans of revolution, by 
 
 T2 
 
276 XARTIES IN GREECE. 
 
 force and not by knowledge, might abuse all the 
 governments of Europe. The Greek committee 
 and Colonel Stanhope certainly forgot that men 
 of all persuasions and sects were subscribers to 
 their funds ; and that the purpose for which they 
 subscribed was to relieve some of the miseries of 
 the cruel warfare in which the Greeks were en- 
 gaged, and enable them to resist the Turks. 
 Those subscriptions had no European political 
 object, and it was a desertion of principles for the 
 committee to have any thing in view but merely 
 to assist the Greeks. 
 
 With such mighty projects in his head, it was to 
 be expected that Colonel Stanhope would not 
 agree very well with those who had most influence 
 in Greece, and who would like least to be dictated 
 to. The parties in Greece, although every chief 
 had a party of his own, were principally two. A 
 party that sought, by organizing and consolidating 
 civil institutions and civil power, in the manner 
 most suitable to the situation and wants of Greece, 
 to ensure government, and order, and military 
 strength. At the head of this party was and is 
 Prince Mavrocordato. It engages in many in- 
 trigues, as every body admits ; it would like to make 
 Greece a monarchy and perhaps have a foreign 
 sovereign, who would be obliged to rule through 
 the individuals who are its chiefs. It liked no 
 rival, and of course dreaded that influence which 
 
MAVROCORDATO THE CHIEF OF ONE PARTY. 277 
 
 might be obtained by any person having money ; 
 and it wished to keep the press under control, 
 lest it should be directed contrary to its views. 
 The other party was that of the military chiefs, 
 each of whom wished to obtain power, and have 
 plunder; and, therefore, though they were united 
 in their opposition to the party seeking civil 
 order, they were the rivals and enemies of each 
 other. 
 
 Of all the chiefs, however, no one was more 
 generally respected than Mavrocordato. He was 
 the best known in Europe, and the most relied on. 
 To him, in conjunction with that body called the 
 general government, though it had but little power, 
 had Lord Byron united himself. To him, also, as 
 the most efficient executive organ of this govern- 
 ment, had the Greek committee consigned the 
 stores intended for the use of the Greeks. By his 
 influence also and his name, more than those of 
 any other individual, was the loan negotiated in 
 England. Unquestionably he was and is the first 
 statesman in Greece, though, from not having any 
 armed hordes at his command, living on plunder, 
 he has not been so much distinguished as a military 
 leader, as some of the other chiefs. If there is 
 one individual in Greece, capable by his know- 
 ledge of appreciating the general wants of his 
 countrymen, and by his skill of uniting them under 
 one form of government, that individual is Mavro- 
 cordato. He was destitute, however, of money 
 
278 ATTACHMENT OP THE GREEKS TO THE PRINCE. 
 
 and of troops ; and therefore it was that Lord 
 Byron, and also the committee in the first instance, 
 did what they could to strengthen him, and to 
 preserve for him that influence in the councils of 
 his country, which he merits by his abilities and 
 his virtues. The stores which I accompanied to 
 Greece, and all the men, were sent to assist him at 
 Missolonghi, which had no other temptation as a 
 place of residence but its utility as one of the 
 outworks of Greece, and the necessity of defending 
 it. Mavrocordato was there with the best and 
 most patriotic intentions ; and in this swamp, to 
 second these intentions, Lord Byron took up his 
 residence. 
 
 The general estimation in which the Prince was 
 held, may be known by the following extracts from 
 Colonel Stanhope's own work: — " The Hydriots 
 and Spezziots, in virtue of a promise formerly made 
 them, wished to settle their families at Napoli di 
 Romania. Colocotroni, it seems, opposed this 
 measure, upon which the islanders refused to act. 
 Mavrocordato was, in consequence, sent to Hydra 
 to conciliate them, and to persuade them to equip 
 their fleet. He succeeded ; they set sail, had a 
 naval engagement with the Turks, between Tene- 
 dos and Mitylene, and took or burnt five or six 
 vessels," page 20. " The Hydriots and Spezziots 
 are also much attached to Mavrocordato. In short, 
 the whole nation seem to look up to him as their 
 friend," page 35. " Mavrocordato is a favourite 
 
SOURCE OF STANHOPE'S QUARREL WITH HIM. 279 
 
 with the islands, the people of Western Greece, and 
 the legislative body. He is now president of that 
 body, and is sent round here to settle affairs in this 
 quarter. I find him good-natured, clever, accom- 
 modating, and disposed to do good. He has rather 
 an ingenious than a profound mind. He seems at 
 all times disposed to concede and to advance every 
 good measure ; and I consider it a great advantage 
 for Greece, that he is now in power at Missolon- 
 ghi," page 41 — 42. At page 55, Mavrocordato is 
 described as the •■ idol of the people." Here, 
 then, we have Colonel Stanhope's own testimony 
 to the high character of Mavrocordato. So es- 
 teemed as he was and is, surely he, if any indi- 
 vidual in Greece should know what is required for 
 that country, and surely he of all men there de- 
 serves confidence. I have already stated, how- 
 ever, on the authority of Lord Byron, that Colonel 
 Stanhope bearded the Prince ; and that, conced- 
 ing and ready to promote every good measure as 
 he was, on Colonel Stanhope's own shewing, he 
 was obliged to oppose much which the latter did 
 or wanted to do. 
 
 Before Colonel Stanhope had been six weeks 
 at Missolonghi, the following scene occurred. 
 It is described by Colonel Stanhope, and there- 
 fore he will not object to its authenticity : — 
 
 " The press is not yet in motion ; I will explain 
 to you the cause. When I arrived here I found 
 

 280 ARROGANT PROCEEDINGS OF THE COLONEL. 
 
 that Mavrocordato had brought a press with him, 
 and that Dr. Meyer had undertaken to conduct it. 
 I immediately endeavoured to rouse the several 
 persons concerned to commence the work ; but a 
 thousand obstacles were thrown in the way. At 
 last a house was procured and put in order : a pro- 
 spectus, partly written by Dr. Meyer and partly 
 by myself, was prepared, a list of the members of 
 the three Parliaments, the Primates, Capitani, &c. 
 was made out, and a circular letter ready to for- 
 ward to them. In short, when I thought that the 
 matter was actually printed, the redact eur declared 
 that the language of the prospectus was not good ; 
 that he had received one from the prince that was 
 all excellent ; in short, that he would not print the 
 prospectus. Mark well that he is the only printer 
 here. It is necessary to mention to you that, 
 during this most important struggle, the treaty or 
 contract, which I had guaranteed relative to the 
 small loan of i?100 for the fleet, had been violated. 
 Instead of seven ships being retained here, only 
 five, and two fire-vessels, remained. The prince's 
 secretary came to explain the matter to me ; but 
 sophistry would not do from one who was slily 
 acting as censor over the press, and attempting to 
 suppress the thoughts of the finest genius of the 
 most enlightened age — the thoughts of the immor- 
 tal Bentham. I told the secretary that contracts 
 were sacred things, and if they were broken in one 
 
SCOLDS BOTH THE PRINCE AND HIS SERVANTS. 281 
 
 instance, what security was there for Lord Byron's 
 loan or the expected English loan. The next 
 morning I met the redacteur at Dr. M.'s, and rated 
 him roughly. I declared that I would set up a press 
 in the Morea, and expose the whole intrigue. I 
 then asked whether it was intended to establish 
 an inquisition in Greece. ' What,' said I, ' will 
 Prince Mavrocordato say to you ; he who is the idol 
 of the people, the governor they have forced the 
 executive to adopt, and the president of the repre- 
 sentatives of a free people, should he hear that 
 you have acted so basely V He shuffled, and agreed 
 to publish what Dr. M. had written, but said that 
 the translation from Bentham was not in good 
 Greek, and could not appear. I gave him another 
 sound rating, and he yielded. Since that time, the 
 prince has called upon me. I told him how in- 
 famously the printer had behaved, and repeated 
 all that I had said to him. I told him, further, 
 that no man's reputation could be safe without a 
 free press; and, as an instance of it, I mentioned 
 that he was accused of wishing to sell the Morea 
 to England, and of aspiring to the throne of Greece. 
 The high and sturdy tone assumed in these two con- 
 versations produced the desired result : — the pro- 
 spectus is printed ; and I feel proud that in Greece, 
 as in Hindoostan, I have contributed to the first 
 establishment of a free press." 
 From his interview with Colonel Stanhope, 
 
282 STANHOPE THANKED FOR CONCILIATION. 
 
 Mavrocordato retired silent and humiliated. This 
 foreigner assumed the direction of affairs ; rates 
 this man rou ghli/ ; gives him "another sound rating ;" 
 assumes a " high and sturdy tone ;" and carries his 
 business through in opposition to that very autho- 
 rity of which he was only to be the auxiliary! 
 This man is described in the vote of thanks of the 
 Greek committee, as " having acted with sound discre- 
 tion," and as " having a conciliatory spirit ;" and 
 here is evidence of his having set himself up in 
 opposition to the native authorities before he had 
 been two months in Greece. 
 
 At this time Mavrocordato depended on the sup- 
 plies of that committee to maintain himself at Mis- 
 solonghi, and preserve this important post. Was 
 it generous, or was it prudent^in Colonel Stanhope 
 to humiliate the prince in this manner, or to make 
 use of the power which circumstance gave him to 
 enforce a whim of his own ? Was it not an evi- 
 dence, and a strong evidence, that our pretensions 
 to assist the Greeks were only founded on a wish 
 to obtain influence in their country ? From that 
 time forward, as might be expected, there was a 
 coolness and opposition between Colonel Stan- 
 hope and Mavrocordato. The prince constantly 
 objecting to his violence, and endeavouring, by 
 those arts of intrigue so common among all classes 
 of the Greeks, to check the circulation of writings 
 he had not the power to suppress. On the other 
 
HIS CALUMNY OF MAVROCORDATO. 283 
 
 hand, Colonel Stanhope knowing these underhand 
 methods, grew constantly more imbittered against 
 Mavrocordato, and accused him of wanting to sup- 
 press all discussion, and of desiring no other press 
 but that which should speak his own sentiments. 
 Before one month after this first dispute, Colonel 
 Stanhope describes Mavrocordato, for no other 
 reason that I could ever learn, than because he ob- 
 jected to the violent tirades of the Colonel, "as no 
 friend to liberty in a large sense" page 63. Before 
 another month elapsed, Mavrocordato was accused 
 of having "ambition, but not the daring or self-con- 
 fidence required to play the first part in the state. 
 His game, therefore, is to secure the second cha- 
 racter, either under the commonwealth or under a 
 king." And then the Colonel asks, sneeringly, 
 " What can you expect from a Turk or a Greek of 
 Constantinople?" page 100. We are afterwards 
 told, however, that Mavrocordato is a good man. 
 " Greece," says Colonel Stanhope, at page 147, 
 " is split into factions, which are enrolled into two 
 great parties. The one consists of Mavrocordato, 
 the islands, a large portion of the legislative body, 
 of the Primates, and of the people. The other 
 consists of Ipsilanti, Petrombey, Colocotroni, and 
 the principal part of the soldiery. Odysseus 
 professes neutrality, but leans to the latter party. 
 Mavrocordato is a good man, bid cannot go straight. 
 He is, secretly, for a mild monarchy. — A thing as 
 
284< SOURCE OF THE CHANGE IN HIS OPINION. 
 
 easy to be obtained in Greece as a mild tiger archy." 
 Four months later, Mavrocordato is described as 
 one from whom no good could be expected, he 
 having been sent to Greece and patronised by the 
 metropolitan Ignatius, who is a mongrel of Turkish, 
 Russian, and Greek breed, and a pensioner of 
 Russia — page 212. Of both, Colonel Stanhope 
 says, " what can you expect, but that each will 
 play the republican or the slave, as circumstances 
 may require or ambition dictate ?" 
 
 From these passages, it is plain a complete 
 change had been effected in Colonel Stanhope's 
 sentiments towards Prince Mavrocordato ; and for 
 this change there was no reason whatever, but the 
 discovery made by Colonel Stanhope that the 
 prince was not as great an enthusiast and visionary 
 as himself. He does not, he cannot, alledge one 
 act against him. He does not attribute to him any 
 loss of popularity or power. He does not say that 
 the islanders had ceased to love and respect him. 
 He convicts him of no intrigues, and does not even 
 prove that he was guilty of any follies. The prince 
 still remained at the post he occupied when Stan- 
 hope went to Greece, and was engaged in the same 
 pursuits as when he described him as the general 
 favourite, and as ready to engage in every good 
 work. The whole course of the change in the 
 Colonel's mind is as clear as if it were a stream 
 lying at our feet. He respects Mavrocordato at 
 
INJURY EFFECTED BY HIS CALUMNY, e 285 
 
 first for his good conduct and great exertions, but 
 he wants to do a number of things in Greece, 
 which, in Mavrocordato's opinion are not beneficial 
 to Greece. Mavrocordato, unable to resist him 
 without injuring Greece, and unwilling to offend 
 one who has so much in his power, opposes his 
 violent proceedings in an underhand way, and the 
 Colonel's respect is changed to contempt, and then 
 comes calumny and opposition. 
 
 Had the accusations of Colonel Stanhope been 
 only breathed into the ear of the secretary of the 
 Greek committee, however much this might have 
 been lamented, and whatever harm they might 
 have done the Greek cause, they would not have 
 been noticed here ; but they are published to the 
 world ; and after Colonel Stanhope has been one 
 of the instruments for transferring that portion of 
 the loan into the pockets of the Greeks, which 
 was ever destined to enter them, he puts forth 
 statements calculated to deprive the most capable 
 man in Greece of confidence, and thus by injuring 
 the Greek cause, to take from the Greek govern- 
 ment the means of fulfilling its engagements. Had 
 Colonel Stanhope's opposition been confined to 
 what lie printed in the newspapers in Greece, and 
 what he published in his book, I should have left to 
 far abler pens than mine the task of punishing him 
 and defending the Greeks. He has exposed his 
 conduct so completely in his own book that every 
 
286 LORD BYRON'S ADVICE. 
 
 body interested for the Greeks must see a want of 
 wisdom in all his proceedings, and among the en- 
 lightened friends to their cause, some will be found 
 to avenge them. But he has done more than print 
 and publish ; he broke up the brigade which Lord 
 Byron had formed ; he destroyed all the fruits of 
 my exertions at Missolonghi ; he did irreparable 
 injury to the Greeks by breaking up that brigade, 
 and this it is which calls on me to expose his con- 
 duct. Whatever may have been the results of his 
 proceedings, I honestly believe they were all 
 caused by his having been thwarted in his news- 
 paper views by Lord Byron and Prince Mavrocor- 
 dato. 
 
 Now for the proofs of his improper proceedings. 
 It has been already mentioned, that the Greek 
 government, Prince Mavrocordato, and Lord 
 Byron, were all apprehensive of what would be the 
 conduct of Ulysses, Colocotroni, and the other 
 military leaders, if they had power. It was Lord 
 Byron's opinion, which he signified to the govern- 
 ment, that as small a portion of the loan, and as 
 few of the stores as possible, should be placed at 
 the disposal of these chiefs. Such an opinion was 
 fully justified by their previous character and 
 conduct. Ulysses had been a servant of Ali Pacha, 
 and a captain of an organized band of plunderers. 
 Colocotroni was a mere adventurer, who had been 
 guilty of all sorts of oppression in the Morea, and 
 
COLONEL STANHOPE'S LIKING FOR ULYSSES. 287 
 
 had collected a considerable body of troops, by 
 allowing them to commit almost unheard-of enor- 
 mities. He even took and plundered some part of 
 the stores belonging to the Greek committee. 
 Since that period, both these chiefs have openly 
 rebelled against the government, and have been 
 defeated. Colocotroni has been deprived of his 
 power, and Ulysses has again taken up his abode 
 in an impregnable, and to strangers inaccessible, 
 pass in the mountains. Thus the event has fully 
 justified the suspicions which the government en- 
 tertained of these mercenary soldiers, and done 
 more than any language can do to condemn the 
 conduct of those Englishmen who supported them 
 in opposition to that government. It is very 
 natural for military men to admire military virtues. 
 Colonel Stanhope, like other officers, is fond 
 of commanding, or of carrying things with a high 
 hand, and he would probably admire, more than 
 a mere civilian would do, a similar disposition in 
 another person. From some reason of this kind, 
 Colonel Stanhope was much more attached to the 
 military chiefs, particularly to Ulysses, than to the 
 cautious and even wily Mavrocordato. Captain 
 Trelawney, a romantic kind of adventurer, had 
 also been much with Ulysses, and was personally 
 attached to him. He liked the free and enenretic 
 character and mode of living of this mountain 
 robber. His communications to Colonel Stanhope 
 
288 THE ROBBER CHIEF'S FLATTERY. 
 
 may probably have had some influence on the 
 Colonel's opinions. In addition to this, Ulysses, 
 knowing Colonel Stanhope's penchant for news- 
 papers, professed to assist him in setting up his 
 press at Athens. From these various causes, 
 Colonel Stanhope was quite smitten with him, and 
 threw all his weight into the scale of this moun- 
 tain robber, almost the instant he got to Athens. 
 
 Only a fortnight after leaving Missolonghi, and 
 after knowing Ulysses or Odysseus, about half that 
 time, he writes of him thus, " I have been con- 
 stantly with Odysseus. He has a very strong 
 mind, a good heart, and is brave as his sword; 
 he is a doing man ; he governs with a strong arm, and 
 is the only man in Greece that can preserve order. He 
 puts, however, complete confidence in the people. 
 He is for a strong government, for constitutional 
 rights, and for vigorous efforts against the enemy. 
 He professes himself of no faction, neither of Ip- 
 silante's, nor of Colocotroni's, nor of Mavrocor- 
 dato's, neither of the primates, nor of the Capitani, 
 nor of the foreign-king faction. He^speaks of them 
 all in the most undisguised manner. He likes good 
 foreigners, is friendly to a small body of foreign troops, 
 and courts instruction. He has established two schools 
 here, and has allowed me to set the press at work. He 
 complains that the press at Missolonghi does not insert 
 articles that do not suit[the politics of the editor." Five 
 days after this Colonel Stanhope writes as follows: 
 
ITS INFLUENCE ON COLONEL STANHOPE. 289 
 
 " The Chief Odysseus has been a mountain rob- 
 ber, has never bowed in bondage to the Turks, has 
 servediinder All Pacha, has been chosen governor of 
 Eastern Greece, has refused to give up Athens to a 
 weak government, and has lately sympathized with 
 the people, and taken the liberal course in politics. 
 He is a brave soldier, has great power, and promotes 
 public liberty. — Just such a man Greece requires." 
 Here is strong and decisive evidence of Colonel 
 Stanhope embracing, with all the warm feelings 
 of a partisan, the party of the mountain robber ; 
 and of the man who had refused to give up Athens 
 to a weak government. Odysseus was at that very 
 moment opposed to the party with which Lord 
 Byron was united, — the party of the government 
 and Prince Mavrocordato, (as is evident from 
 Colonel Stanhope's own shewing) and what is 
 more, the party with which the committee was 
 connected, the party with which the loan had 
 been negotiated, the party to which the artisans, 
 and all the stores, had been sent. For taking 
 this decided part, Colonel Stanhope appears to 
 have had no reason whatever, but that he was 
 flattered by Odysseus. The very language and 
 opinions he puts into the mouth of this chief, 
 were the language and opinions he himself held. 
 "He promotes public liberty ; he has allowed me 
 to set the press at work ; he has established two 
 schools; he complains of the press at Missolonghi ; 
 
 and, withal, he possesses great power, does this 
 
 u 
 
290 A DEMAND FOR STORES. 
 
 mountain robber, and he governs with a strong 
 hand." It is quite plain that this frank soldier 
 had more cunning than Mavrocordato, and gave 
 into all the Colonel's whims for the sake of ob- 
 taining his support* What respect can a mountain 
 robber, a Captain of Ali Pacha's, have for a free 
 press ; or what can such a man know of the nice 
 safeguards of civil and political liberty? His con- 
 duct had undergone no alteration; and, merely 
 by professing the same principles as Colonel 
 Stanhope, he instantly won his confidence. It 
 could not, however, be unknown to Colonel Stan- 
 hope at the time, that Odysseus was an object of 
 suspicion to the general government ; nor that let- 
 ters had frequently been intercepted, which had 
 justified these suspicions. While he was cajoling 
 Colonel Stanhope, by pretending to be of no party, 
 and to have a great partiality for the freedom of 
 the press, he was carrying on intrigues with Ipsi- 
 lanti and Colocotroni, to put an end to the influ- 
 ence of Mavrocodato, and overturn the party of 
 civil order, so that Greece might be delivered up 
 entirely to the strong government of the Capitani, 
 and be placed under their swords. 
 
 The first practical result of this new attachment 
 of Colonel Stanhope's, was a demand on Lord 
 Byron to send powder, guns, shot, and other 
 stores, from Missolonghi to Athens ; that is, to 
 take them from the government to which they had 
 been sent, and consign them to Odysseus. When 
 
INTRIGUE AT MISSOLONGHI. 291 
 
 Colonel Stanhope wrote, on March the 8th, to 
 Lord Byron, he also suggested that the English 
 mechanics, if they had not departed from Misso- 
 longhi, should be sent to Athens, as well as my- 
 self, or Mr. Gil], or Mr. Hodges. Thus, as far as 
 depended on Colonel Stanhope, he would at once 
 have weakened, even during Lord Byron's life- 
 time, his resources, and the resources of Prince 
 Mavrocordato. As this request was known, both 
 to the Prince and to Odysseus, it had the imme- 
 diate effect of exciting the hopes and encourage- 
 ing the intrigues of the latter, and making the 
 former dread the influence of Colonel Stanhope 
 more than ever. 
 
 The next result was, that intrigues were set 
 on foot to seduce some of those from our service 
 whom Lord Byron would not send. I do not say 
 that Colonel Stanhope himself engaged in this 
 low dirty business : but I am sure, lending himself 
 to the party of Odysseus gave it a credit at Mis- 
 solonghi it would not otherwise have acquired, 
 and enabled his partisans to use Stanhope's 
 name, in a way they would not otherwise have 
 dared to do. Soon after the request for stores ar- 
 rived, in consequence of the numerous saint and 
 holy days on which the Greeks would on no 
 account work, I procured, through Lord Byron, 
 permission) from the clergy, for the Greeks in 
 the arsenal to work on Sunday, to which generally 
 they had no objection. They were to receive 
 
 U2 
 
292 INTERCEPTED LETTER. 
 
 more pay for working on that day than on any 
 other. But on stating this circumstance to the 
 workmen, I found there existed among them 
 an unwillingness I had never before perceived. 
 This surprised me, and pursuing the inquiry, into 
 which I was led by some hints, I ascertained 
 that these men had been tampered with by the 
 party at Athens, who had used Colonel Stanhope's 
 name, and that discontent had in consequence 
 got amongst them. They thought they should 
 be better off at Athens, and wished to leave 
 Missolonghi. Under the sanction of Colonel 
 Stanhope's example, and tempted by selfishness 
 and ambition, they joined, in their wishes, the 
 party arrayed against Missolonghi, and did what 
 they could to break up the establishment there, 
 and ruin Mavrocordato, for the benefit of Odysseus. 
 By Colonel Stanhope embracing so openly the 
 party of the latter, he gave an opportunity to the 
 partisans of Odysseus, to represent him as wholly 
 attached to the Athenian Chief. Thus Sophia- 
 nopulo, one of Odysseus's friends, writing from 
 Athens to Demetrius Ipsilanti, says, "TheEnglish 
 took the part of the Cranidi people in the first 
 instance, only because they were deceived by 
 Mavrocordato, but having been since persuaded 
 that Mavrocordato, and those of Cranidi, instead 
 of seeking the independence of Greece, are endea- 
 vouring without the consent of the people, to 
 invite kings and to demand the proteeiion of foreign 
 
SUSPICIONS IT GENERATED. 293 
 
 powers, they have quitted the party of Mavro- 
 corclato and those of Cranidi, and now panegyrize 
 the conduct of the Tripolitza people, with whom 
 they are desirous of entering into a correspon- 
 dence, seeing that they desire only a national 
 assembly, union, and a cessation of faction. 
 Mavrocordato had so prejudiced the English 
 against Ulysses. Niketas, and Colocotroni, that 
 they could not listen to their names with pleasure ; 
 but the conferences of Col. Stanhope with Ulysses, 
 although very brief, and his acquaintance with 
 Goortho, and other persons of good sentiments, 
 have compelled him to declare that the fall of Mavro- 
 cordato, the introduction of D. Ipsilanti into the 
 national government, and the reinforcement of 
 the government with Colliopulo and Goortho, are 
 the only means of securing the independence of 
 Greece, and the consolidation of her laws, by 
 putting a stop to civil war and intestine dis- 
 turbances,'' p. 308. This letter was intercepted by 
 the government and sent to Missolonghi, where it 
 arrived shortly after we had discovered the in- 
 trigues set on foot, in Colonel Stanhope's name, 
 to seduce our people, and shortly after he had 
 made those requisitions which, if complied with, 
 would have put Missolonghi in the power of any 
 body who chose to attack it. These circumstances, 
 which all occurred shortly before Lord Byron's 
 death, begot an opinion at Missolonghi, that 
 Colonel Stanhope was openly lending himself to 
 
294 STANHOPE IN A CONSPIRACY. 
 
 the intrigues of Ulysses — whom he describes in 
 another place as a consummate intriguer, and of 
 course they had a powerful effect on the minds of 
 all the persons, both foreigners and Greeks, at Mis- 
 solonghi. This was, I believe, one strong motive 
 for Mavrocordato not meeting a congress called by 
 Odysseus, and recommended by Stanhope. Thus, 
 the violent partisan feelings betrayed by Colonel 
 Stanhope had the immediate effect of preventing 
 that meeting, which might have promoted the 
 union of the whole, had it been properly managed. 
 That Sophianopulo was engaged in a con- 
 spiracy to destroy the power of Mavrocordato is 
 admitted. That Colonel Stanhope had fully lent 
 himself to the views of this man, whom his own 
 friends describe as a detestable character, is 
 evident from his recommending, in the passage 
 already quoted, p. 246, two of the very measures 
 which this Sophianopulo wished to have executed, 
 viz., the introduction of D. Ipsilanti and Colli- 
 opulo into the government. The opinion that 
 Colonel Stanhope was engaged with Odysseus in 
 his rebellious projects against the government 
 was strengthened, also, by what this letter said of 
 Colonel Stanhope's opinions, as to Prince Mavro- 
 cordato wishing to invite a King, and place the 
 Greeks under the protection of foreign powers, 
 because it was known that Colonel Stanhope, 
 however unjustifiable such opinions were by any 
 circumstances in the conduct of Mavrocordato, 
 
CORRESPONDS WITH MY SUBALTERNS. 295 
 
 did entertain them. This intercepted letter, 
 therefore, shewed that Colonel Stanhope had at 
 least made Sophianopulo his confidant, and had 
 entered into his views. So strong was the opinion 
 at Missolonghi, that he had joined the opposing 
 chiefs in all their views against the government, 
 that his own partisans there, for he had par- 
 tisans, write to him thus : " Considerable pains 
 are taken by some person or persons, to make it 
 appear, that you are supporting a faction in op- 
 position to the government, and this is not a little 
 increased, by a letter written by Mr. Hastings 
 (a friend of Colonel Stanhope's) to an American 
 gentleman here, of the name of Jarvis, in which 
 he says, " that in spite of all his remonstrances, 
 he is afraid your mind is biassed by a person, 
 named we believe Sophianopulo, whom Hastings 
 states to be one of the most execrable villains 
 that ever existed." p. 184*. * 
 
 * This extract is part of a letter from Messrs. Hodges and Gill, 
 two persons under my orders at Missolonghi : it bears no date, but 
 it is mentioned in a letter written by the Colonel from Salona, on 
 April the ISth, and is described as having been just received 
 The independent and upright-minded Colonel Stanhope, had 
 engaged my subalterns therefore to write to him, and the tenour 
 of their correspondence is somewhat remarkable. This letter 
 begins. " In respect to ivhat has been done since our arrival, as 
 ■we cannot say what we wish, we will decline saying any thing." 
 So that Colonel Stanhope did not choose to be informed of what 
 was doing, or of what had been done, by Lord Byron, Count 
 Gamba, or me ; no, he had recourse to my subalterns, whom 
 he thus employed and encouraged to transmit reports of the 
 conduct of their superiors. That was the sort of information 
 Stanhope asked and wanted. 
 
296 RECOMMENDATION OF CAPT. TRELAWNEY. 
 
 After Colonel Stanhope had been informed of 
 the suspicions excited by his conduct, it might 
 have been expected that he would have taken 
 some steps to remove them. He persevered, 
 however, in giving power to the robber chief, 
 who has since been obliged again to take to the 
 mountains ; and, in weakening Mavrocordato and 
 the government, thus he identified his views 
 with the conduct of Odysseus. He had been 
 warned of the consequences, he knew of the 
 suspicions, knew of the imputations which had 
 been made against him, and yet he persevered in 
 breaking up the establishment at Missolonghi. 
 On April the 28th, not ten days after Lord 
 Byron's death, his friend, and the friend of Odys- 
 seus, Captain Trelawney writes to Colonel Stan- 
 hope from Missolonghi, thus : " Every one here, 
 I mean the English artificers and brigade, 
 now wish to join Odysseus ; or, at least, to leave 
 this hole ; I know you will say I have seduced 
 them." On the 29th he writes, " Every one says, 
 Gamba and all, that neither Byron, nor any one 
 else, has given the committee's stores to Mavro- 
 cordato. I have ascertained, that you are legally 
 and indisputably now in full possession, and full 
 power. Hodges and Gill will not stay here. All 
 the English wish to be off. Do, my dear Sir, take 
 some prompt and decisive steps. I will, if you like, 
 execute them. You know the wants of Eastern 
 Greece. Could you not consign some portion of 
 
ORDER SENT BY STANHOPE. 297 
 
 these stores to that part, on condition of the Greek 
 government's approval? Divide the artillery brigade 
 in two, for it is, in force, two brigades." 
 
 In consequence of such representations second- 
 ing his own wishes, Colonel Stanhope wrote from 
 Zante, under date May 18th, to Mr. Hodges, one 
 of those subalterns with whom he had previously 
 been corresponding, desiring him "to deliver over 
 to Captain Trelawney's charge, who, be it remem- 
 bered, had no official character whatever, one 
 howitzerand three three-pounders, with cartridges 
 and every thing complete for field service. These 
 guns and this ammunition he will place in the cus- 
 tody of General Odysseus, during the pleasure of 
 the general government of Greece. You will also 
 be pleased to deliver to Captain Trelawney, a spy 
 glass and a map of Greece, for General Odysseus. 
 Unless Mr. Gill's presence is necessary or useful at 
 Missolonghi, of which he must be the best judge, 
 I wish him to proceed to Athens with Captain 
 Trelawney. He will take such working tools with 
 him as he may consider necessary." p. 214. 
 
 This order broke up the brigade, and completely 
 blighted the fruits of all Lord Byron's exertions. 
 In consequence of it three long three-pounders, 
 two short three-pounders, mountain guns, and the 
 howitzer complete, were sent to Odysseus, under 
 the charge of Captain Trelawney. This was in 
 fact the decisive measure which this gentleman 
 recommended Colonel Stanhope to order, and 
 
29S NOT APPROVED BY LORD BYRON. 
 
 which he volunteered his services to execute. I 
 was at Zante when the order was given, and re- 
 monstrated against it, but Colonel Stanhope would 
 not listen to me. My remonstrances he termed 
 swaggering, and my reminding him of Lord By- 
 ron's intentions, and the government orders, he 
 denominated blustering. In his letter to Prince 
 Mavrocordato, dated Zante, December 7th, he de- 
 scribes himself " as deputed to act in concert 
 with Lord Byron, and further his views in favour 
 of Greece," p. 37. In all his proceedings which 
 fell under my cognizance, he acted in opposition 
 to Lord Byron, and did any thing but promote his 
 views. The very step he took about the brigade 
 and the stores, was directly in opposition to Lord 
 Byron'sviews. It was in vain thatl represented this 
 to him ; that I had received Lord Byron's, Prince 
 Mavrocordato's, and the government's orders, not 
 to allow any stores to be sent away : it was in vain 
 that I represented Lord Byron's opinion on the 
 necessity of adhering to the general government, 
 (which he had felt so strongly, that he had with- 
 drawn the orders he had once given, as I have 
 already stated, to send some supplies to his old 
 friend Longa, and those supplies were never sent,) 
 it was in vain that I represented to Colonel Stan- 
 hope the mischief which might ensue by taking 
 the supplies from under the control of the govern- 
 ment and giving them into the hands of the chiefs: 
 Colonel Stanhope would persist, and he sent those 
 
NOT APPROVED OF BY THE GOVERNMENT. 299 
 
 supplies to Odysseus, which, for aught I know, 
 may since have been recaptured by the general 
 government. 
 
 I had received orders from Lord Byron, at my 
 peril, not to deliver any article whatever, unless 
 the delivery was sanctioned by the general go- 
 vernment. Col. Stanhope in his letter does men- 
 tion the general government, but it is impossible 
 that this government could have given permission 
 to remove these stores, or to place them under the 
 control of Odysseus, whom at that very moment it 
 suspected of hostility. It is very amusing, also, to 
 see with what facility this robber chief is trans- 
 formed by Colonel Stanhope into General Odys- 
 seus. I am persuaded that under no circum- 
 stances would the government have sanctioned 
 the plan of strengthening its opponent Odysseus, 
 at the expense of its friend Mavrocordato. At 
 least the measure would never have been adopted 
 without his sanction. About the same period 
 however, on May 22d, Mavrocordato wrote to Mr 
 Blaquiere, who was then at Zante, objecting in 
 the strongest manner to sending any artillery from 
 Missolonghi, or in any way weakening that im- 
 portant post. He also complains of wanting am- 
 munition, and he says the people will not sec the 
 removal of these things from Missolonghi with in- 
 difference. 
 
 At the time this letter was written Colonel 
 
300 MAVROCORDATO's SENTIMENTS. 
 
 Stanhope was still at Zante, and as it is published 
 in his book, the probabilities are that he was there 
 when it arrived, and that it was communicated to 
 him at the moment. 
 
 There is indeed reason to believe that it was 
 written either with a view of its being shewn to 
 him, or of being made public in some way or other; 
 and it casts much too clear a light on the manner 
 in which the friend of Lord Byron and the first 
 statesman of Greece was treated by a few med- 
 dling and overbearing captains and colonels, not 
 to have all the publicity possible given to it ; I 
 shall insert it, therefore, in the Appendix, under 
 the letter F. A letter containing similar senti- 
 ments was also addressed to Count Gamba, and it 
 also will be found in the appendix marked G. 
 
 The reader will see by these letters, how 
 completely the above order of Colonel Stan- 
 hope was in opposition to the wishes of Prince 
 Mavrocordato, and of the general government of 
 Greece ; he will learn, too, how completely the 
 colonel took the arrangement of every thing of this 
 description on his own responsibility ; and from 
 Colonel Stanhope's own book, he may learn how 
 sincerely he despised and condemned that govern- 
 ment and people he, and others like him were 
 calling on the British people to subscribe their 
 money to support. Col. Stanhope's conduct on 
 this occasion may be considered, — as to his right 
 
COLONEL STANHOPE'S POWER QUESTIONED. 301 
 
 to do what he did, and as to the expediency of 
 his proceedings. I deny that he had any autho- 
 rity to break up the brigade, but the expediency 
 of his doing so I must leave to others more com- 
 petent than I am to decide ; I may, however, ob- 
 serve, that to make the brigade of artillery effective, 
 it was essential to keep it undivided. A mountain 
 gun or two might have been of great service to 
 Odysseus ; but, independent of his being a mere 
 armed chieftain, in opposition to the government, 
 it may well be doubted how far one gun here, and 
 one gun there, taken from under the management 
 of those who were acquainted with this species of 
 force, could tend to the defence of Greece. Dis- 
 tributing the force and the resources of the com- 
 mittee in this manner, was but setting up a new 
 race of Pachas, to lord it for another three centu- 
 ries over the poor inhabitants of Greece. The 
 government of the sword, or rather in this case of 
 the gun, was, however, the sort of government 
 which, under the name of a strong government, 
 this Anglo-Indian Colonel was particularly desir- 
 ous of establishing in Greece. 
 
 As to Colonel Stanhope's right to break up the 
 brigade, I may observe that it was very doubtful 
 to me whether Captain Trelawney's information 
 as to the extent of Colonel Stanhope's power to 
 dispose of the stores was correct ; setting aside the 
 remarkable circumstance of Colonel Stanhope, 
 
302 ORDER OP THE GREEK COMMITTEE 
 
 who held an official situation, not knowing whether 
 he had such power or not, and deriving informa- 
 tion that he had from a person who was quite un- 
 acquainted with all the circumstances of the case. 
 Soon after the arrival of the laboratory establish- 
 ment in Greece, this was expressly notified to Prince 
 Mavrocordato, by a joint letter of Lord Byron and 
 Colonel Stanhope, in which the prince is expressly 
 required to state forthwith, " in what manner he 
 wishes it to be employed," p. 107. If this is 
 not placing it under his orders, I scarce know any 
 form of language which would do so. It gave him 
 the control of these stores, unless the letter were 
 meant as a mockery ; at least it must be admitted 
 that after such an offer it was not possible, more 
 particularly after LordByron's death, and particu- 
 larly after the slighting manner Colonel Stanhope 
 had treated the prince, to withdraw the laboratory 
 and stores from under his control without insult- 
 ing him. 
 
 The instructions and orders given to me by Mr. 
 Bowring, the secretary to the Greek committee, 
 (and it will be recollected that the whole of the 
 guns and stores were placed immediately under 
 my care) were, first, to obey the orders and direc- 
 tions of the chief commissioner Lord Byron ; 
 secondly, to deliver an account of the stores to 
 Prince Mavrocordato, governor of Western Greece, 
 who would be responsible that the stores should be ex- 
 
SANCTIONED BY LORD^BYRON. 303 
 
 pended for the service of Greece:' On my arrival, I 
 obeyed these instructions, and from that time till 
 the time of my leaving Greece, the whole expense 
 of carrying- on the service was defrayed by Lord 
 Byron. Not one farthing had the committee sup- 
 plied ; not one farthing was at the command of the 
 Greek government ; so that, in point of fact, the 
 expense of all our labours, from the time of our 
 arrival in Greece, was defrayed by Lord Byron. 
 This nobleman not only sanctioned my placing 
 myself, agreeably to Mr. Bowring's instructions, 
 under the orders of Prince Mavrocordato, but his 
 whole conduct shewed that he placed the greatest 
 confidence in the prince. The money which he 
 had laid out he had placed at the disposal of the 
 prince, and unquestionably Colonel Stanhope had 
 no power to take it, or the stores which had been 
 preserved at Lord Byron's cost, (for they would 
 have fallen a prey to the Suliotes, but for him,) 
 out of the power of Mavrocordato. Even if he 
 had, common decency — common respect for the 
 wishes and intentions of Lord Byron, whose views 
 he said he came to further, — should have taught 
 Colonel Stanhope to have abstained from insult- 
 ing Lord Byron's friends, and from diverting the 
 supplies he had given, to a purpose he would have 
 condemned. But while that corpse was yet un- 
 buried, which he afterwards followed to the grave 
 as a mourner, did he insult Lord Byron's friend, 
 
30t SOURCE OF COLONEL STANHOPE'S POWER. 
 
 and endeavour to cast odium on his memory, by 
 tacitly condemning his measures. 
 
 At Zante, he asked me who gave me authority 
 to call Mavrocordato a prince. So far did this 
 passively-obedient soldier carry his democratical 
 notions, that he could not bear, I suppose, to hear 
 any man called prince in his presence. He seems 
 to have forgotten that from this very prince did he, 
 as well as I, derive any right we possessed to be in 
 Greece, in any other capacity than as mere travel- 
 lers ; and but for his sanction and the sanction of 
 the government which he chiefly administered, we 
 both deserved to be treated as common buccaneers. 
 The instant Colonel Stanhope rejected that autho- 
 rity, he divested himself of all right to serve 
 Greece. The committee could give him no power 
 whatever in that country, and he was there either 
 as the servant of the government, or he had no 
 riffht there whatever. He had not even over those 
 warlike stores the common right of property, and 
 could have no business to take them from under 
 the control of that government which alone could 
 legally use them. . 
 
 Before Colonel Stanhope began to break up 
 the brigade at Missolonghi, he should have 
 recollected that all the commissions and ap- 
 pointments had been issued by the prince ; with- 
 out them, all the foreigners must be considered 
 as mere land-pirates ; and removing it from his 
 
OUR RIGHT TO CARRY ARMS. 305 
 
 control, was taking from it every recognised 
 and legitimate character. What right had any of 
 us to carry arms but these commissions ? The 
 Greek committee could give us none ; and if we 
 did not derive it from the Greek government, we 
 might commit murder every time we drew a trig- 
 ger. Mavrocordato, I have stated, was in the 
 habit of receiving deserters from the corps of some 
 other chiefs, as if they were at open war; and 
 they therefore could not, and would not, recog- 
 nize his authority. To remove any of the indi- 
 viduals from under his control, without the autho- 
 rity of the Greek government, was either making 
 them deserters or depriving them of all legal claims 
 to act in Greece. I deny, therefore, notwithstand- 
 ing what Captain Trelawney said, that Colonel 
 Stanhope was competent to break up the brigade, 
 or that he had or could have any right whatever 
 to send away stores from under the control of 
 Prince Mavrocordato to Ulysses. In fact, also, the 
 brigade, stores and all, were wholly under my 
 orders after Lord Byron's death; I was responsi- 
 ble for them both to the committee and to Prince 
 Mavrocordato. Certainly I had been obliged to 
 leave Missolonghi for the moment, on account of 
 my health, and had given up the charge to others, 
 but I was at Zante, and Colonel Stanhope mio-ht 
 have communicated his wishes through me to 
 those who were bound to obey no other person's 
 
300 stanhope's conduct to me. 
 
 orders but mine. In spite, however, of his having 
 no right to dispose of any part of the stores, or of 
 the brigade, and in spite of the commandant of 
 both being within his reach, he broke it up by his 
 own orders, and, as I have said, in defiance of my 
 representations, 
 
 I was at Zante when Colonel Stanhope gave 
 the orders ; and when I found out that he was 
 breaking up the brigade at Missolonghi, and 
 sending away stores, without consulting me, in 
 whose power they had been placed, I thought 
 it was time to take precautions for my own security. 
 Under such sort of conduct no man was safe, and 
 under so many masters it was impossible to serve 
 with credit and honour. Colonel Stanhope had 
 even the impudence, lean give it no softer name, to 
 appropriate to other purposes the money I had 
 received from Lord Byron, for carrying on certain 
 parts of the service at Missolonghi ; and for which 
 I alone was responsible, having given receipts 
 for it to Laga, Lord Byron's Secretary. He 
 thus placed it out of my power, either to carry 
 on the service, or even to serve at all under the 
 Greek committee, its numerous agents, and con- 
 tradictory proceedings, and at once, I shook myself 
 clear of any dependence on so assuming and im- 
 prudent a man. I wrote to Prince Mavrocordato, 
 stating all the particulars of Colonel Stanhope's 
 proceedings, and informing him, that under such 
 
COMPELS ME TO RETURN. 307 
 
 circumstances, it would be of no use for me to re- 
 turn to Missolonghi. I professed my willingness 
 to serve Greece, but I was fully resolved not to 
 serve under Colonel Stanhope. The Prince sent 
 me an answer, and requested me to wait at Zante, 
 till the arrival of Colonel Gordon, who was then 
 expected, or till the loan should be remitted, 
 when he hoped it would be in his power to em- 
 ploy me in the immediate service of the Greek 
 government, for the purpose of inspecting and 
 repairing the fortifications. To this proposal I 
 willingly acceded. When at a later period, I saw 
 no probability of this hope being realized, saw 
 no chance of Mr. Gordon's arrival, saw Colonel 
 Stanhope depart, and leave the Greeks destitute 
 of money ; and when his conduct had been such, 
 as to make it impossible to serve with credit, as 
 well as dangerous to serve at all, I was obliged 
 to return to England. Thus was the whole ex- 
 pense, to which the Greek committee had been 
 put in sending me out, as well as the expense of 
 sending out the mechanics, also thrown away. 
 This was Colonel Stanhope's doing, and for this 
 conduct he received the approbation of the com- 
 mittee. 
 
 Colonel Stanhope persisted in sending, by 
 Captain Trelawney, the guns and stores to Odys- 
 seus. Since that period, this chief, elated pro- 
 bably by these additional means of warfare 
 
 X2 
 
308 CHARGE SUBSTANTIATED. 
 
 giving him additional power, has declared open 
 war against the government, and has been obliged, 
 with his admirer, Captain Trelawney, to take re- 
 fuge in the mountains. Every particle of force 
 he acquired by reason of the guns and stores so 
 sent, was so much added to the enemies of that 
 government Colonel Stanhope was sent to assist; 
 and for this also he has received the approbation 
 of the Greek committee. 
 
 I trust I have now fully made out my charge 
 against Colonel Stanhope. He went to Greece, 
 an admirer of Prince Mavrocordato, and he re- 
 turned home his decided opponent, and the 
 patron of a man, whom he himself describes as 
 having been the chief of a band of robbers. 
 Because he was not permitted by Prince Mavro- 
 cordato to establish a press, and abuse all the 
 governments of Europe after his own fashion; be- 
 cause he was not allowed to govern Greece, as 
 the representatives of the India Company govern 
 the tributary states in which they reside ; and, 
 because Lord Byron resisted this assumption 
 of power, and supported Prince Mavrocordato, 
 in opposing the wild schemes of Colonel Stanhope, 
 he did whatever he could to ruin Mavrocordato, 
 and injure the reputation of the man he called his 
 friend, and whose corpse he followed to the grave. 
 In the pursuit of his own schemes, he broke up the 
 brigade Lord Byron had been at so much pains 
 
REASONS FOR WITHHOLDING THE LOAN. 309 
 
 in forming; he in a manner reversed and destroyed 
 all Byron had done, and not only cast, as far as 
 lay in his power, odium on the memory of his 
 noble friend, but did a great injury to the Greek 
 cause. Directly in the teeth of his own declara- 
 tions, he disposed of the stores without the sanc- 
 tion of the Greek government; and disposed of 
 them in favour of one Greek chief. He did what 
 he could to set up a rival power, and to ruin the 
 very government he went to Greece to support. 
 Under any circumstances, rival commissioners 
 would have been an unfortunate occurrence ; but 
 when there were different parties in the country, 
 and these commissioners took different sides, what 
 could possibly be the consequences but increased 
 difficulties, increased animosities, and increased 
 dangers? If the independence and courage of 
 Greece have outlived the campaign of 1824, it has 
 not been owing to the succour afforded by the 
 Greek committee and by Col. Stanhope, but to the 
 folly and imbecility of its barbarous antagonist. 
 
 I say nothing of the loan being withheld, by the 
 recommendation of Colonel Stanhope, after it had 
 been contracted for and sent out to Zante, as that 
 probably may be explained by the circumstance 
 of Lord Byron's death invalidating the commis- 
 sion for issuing the money. It is a remarkable 
 circumstance, however, that Colonel Stanhope 
 says, " his reasons for recommending that the 
 
310 EFFECTS ON GREECE. 
 
 money should not be issued, are, that the govern- 
 ment is not sufficiently organized, and that the 
 necessary measures have not as yet been taken 
 for the proper appropriation of the money." Was 
 Col. Stanhope then ignorant of the plan which had 
 been agreed on between Lord Byron and Prince 
 Mavrocordato, as mentioned at page 97 of this 
 work ? If he were ignorant, can it be attributed 
 to any other circumstance than to his withdrawing 
 from them and acting in opposition to them? If 
 Col. Stanhope had acted in conjunction with these 
 two persons, instead of joining Ali Pacha's moun- 
 tain robber, this plan would have been matured, 
 and the loan might have been, as far as that was 
 concerned, issued immediately. 
 
 But Col. Stanhope also objects to the want of or- 
 ganization in the government; andwhatindividual, 
 so much as Col. Stanhope, by embracing first of all 
 one party, and then another, had impeded this or- 
 ganization? lam entitled to conclude, that the 
 two reasons on which Col. Stanhope grounds his 
 objections to deliver the loan would never have 
 had any existence but for his own conduct. Be 
 this as it may, the fact is certain and well known 
 that the Greeks, relying on this loan, had not 
 adopted any other means of endeavouring to ob- 
 tain a supply of money, and, consequently, had 
 none for fitting out their fleet. The strongest re- 
 presentations were made on this point, both to 
 
THE LOSS OF IPSARA, 311 
 
 Colonel Stanhope and Mr. Blaquiere, but still the 
 money was not advanced in time *. 
 
 Unfortunate men will sometimes be unjust; the 
 Greeks, therefore, may do Col. Stanhope wrong ; 
 but when they knew the first instalment of the loan 
 had arrived at Zante, when they saw him on the 
 spot, when he went away without making it over to 
 them, and when they afterwards suffered the ter- 
 rible disaster at Ipsara, which the loan would have 
 enabled them to avert, they did not hesitate to 
 affirm, that the whole guilt of that belonged to 
 
 * What was expected from Colonel Stanhope may 
 probably be inferred from the following extract of a letter 
 from the government to Mavcorordato : — 
 
 Extract de la lettre du Government. 
 
 " Nous avons rec^u votre lettre en date du 18, ainsi que 
 les pieces y incluses. 
 
 " Monsieur Palyroides est encore a Hydra, et l'honora- 
 ble Colonel Stanhope n'a pas paru jusqu' a present, nous 
 esperons qu'il ne tardera pas d'arriver, persuade qu'il est 
 que son retard ameneroit les plus grands entraves aux 
 operations militaires, et des resultats bien malheureux 
 pour cette campagne. Nos batiments sont deja prets ; 
 mais il est impossible d'y embarquer un seul homrae, 
 sans que la solde soit prealablement payee. La flotte 
 Turcque est, en attendant, arrivee a Negropont, et le 
 blocus par terre de cette place s 'est immediatement leve. 
 La flotte ennemie est composee de cinquante et quelques 
 batiments. Nous n'avons aucune nouvelle de Salone. 
 Ulysse en addressant au Gouvernement des lettres ecrit 
 
312 OPINION OF THE GREEKS. 
 
 him. " Had the money," they said, " which they 
 had borrowed, and for the payment of which they 
 had made themselves responsible, been made over 
 to them, Ipsara would have been saved ;'' and 
 when they said this, they vowed, did it ever lay 
 in their power, to take vengeance on the indi- 
 vidual to whom they attributed the delay. 
 
 The proceeding may probably be justified, but 
 it appears very strange to promise money to a 
 nation, to transmit it till it is almost within their 
 grasp, to know they had relied on it for preparing 
 
 en meme tems aux Generaux Colocotroni, Coliopulos, 
 et Nikita ; on decouvre dans ses lettres le stile obscur et 
 raalin de Monsieur Negri. 
 
 " Des Moulins de Napoli, le 27 Avril, (9 Mai). 
 
 " G. CONDOURIOTTI, 
 " C. BOTAJCHI, 
 " J. Cc-LLETTI, 
 
 " A. Spiliotachi. 
 " P. S. M. Palyroides vient d'arriver en ce moment de 
 retour d' Hydra." 
 
 (TRANSLATION.) 
 " We have received your letter, dated the 18th, as well 
 as the enclosed communications. Mr. Palyroides is still 
 at Hydra and the Honourable Colonel Stanhope has not 
 yet made his appearance. We hope he will not be long in 
 arriving, persuaded as he is that his delay will very much 
 hamper the military operations, and produce the most 
 unfortunate results during the present campaign. Our 
 vessels are ready, but it is impossible to put a single man 
 
COLONEL STANHOPE'S FEAll OF CENSURE. 313 
 
 their means of defence, and at the opening of the 
 campaign, at the very moment the enemy was at 
 the door, to mock the hopes which had been ex- 
 cited, and to deprive the poor Greeks of their 
 means of defence. Colonel Stanhope judged 
 rightly when he said, he " calculated on being, 
 both in Greece and in England, duly burdened 
 with odium." As to Greece, Colonel Stanhope 
 was quite right ; he is still remembered in Greece, 
 but with feelings very different from the love and 
 veneration with which Lord Byron is remembered. 
 As to England, it would appear that he was incor- 
 rect ; but he did not calculate on the confidence 
 which his countrymen repose in great names, and 
 did not expect to have a shield thrown over him 
 
 on board them unless the wages is previously paid. 
 The Turkish fleet has in the mean time arrived at Negro- 
 pont, and the blockade of that place by land was imme- 
 diately raised. The enemy's fleet consists of upwards of 
 fifty sail. We have no news from Salona. Ulysses has 
 addressed copies of letters to the government, which he 
 has sent at the same time to Generals Colocotroni, Col- 
 liopuli, and Nikitas ; in these letters the obscure and 
 malignant style of M. Negris is discernible. 
 
 " Mills of Napoli, April 26, (May 9.) 
 
 " G. CoNDDRIOTTIS, 
 " C. BOTAKI, 
 " J. COLLETTI. 
 
 " P. S. Mr. Palyroides has arrived this instant, on his 
 return from Hydra." 
 
314 REPORT. 
 
 in the shape of a vote of thanks by the Greek com- 
 mittee. 
 
 I say nothing of Colonel Stanhope empowering 
 half a dozen adventurers, such as Captain Tre- 
 lawney, Mr. Humphreys, Captain Hastings, &c. 
 to dispose of the committee's stores, to form plans 
 for the regulation of Greece, and to dictate to the 
 Greek government ; moreover, I say nothing of 
 the committee itself sending out agent after agent, 
 and controller after controller; they are answera- 
 ble on these points to the public they represent, 
 but I am certain that the little assistance we have 
 given has assumed too much the appearance of 
 interference, and that our pecuniary aid has lost 
 the character of generosity, by being coupled with 
 too many recommendations and conditions. In- 
 dependent of any agents sent out by the com- 
 mittee, there were persons on the spot who might 
 have supplied them with correct information. I 
 was accustomed to state to Mr. Bowring such facts 
 as fell under my notice, and the reader will see in 
 the Appendix H. the copy of a letter or report, ad- 
 dressed to Mr. Bowring, on March 20th, which re- 
 ceived Lord Byron's approbation, and is referred 
 to by him in a note appended to a letter of Colonel 
 Stanhope's, to be found at page 127 of that gentle- 
 man's work on Greece. I shall also place in the 
 Appendix some letters from different persons in 
 Greece, which may serve to throw light on Colonel 
 
SUMMARY. 315 
 
 Stanhope's and Captain Trelawney's proceedings, 
 as well as on the state of affairs at that time. 
 They are marked I. 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. 
 
 If the view I have given be correct, the conduct 
 of Colonel Stanhope was highly wrong from the 
 very commencement of his embassy, and continued 
 during the whole time he was in Greece to be 
 guided by most improper principles. The Greek 
 committee were in the first instance to blame, for 
 empowering a man of his opinions and habits to 
 represent them in Greece. They were still more 
 to blame when every communication of his brought 
 evidence of his improper interference with the in- 
 ternal affairs of that country, and of his dictating 
 to its government, for not then recalling him and 
 protesting to the Greek deputies here, and to every 
 authority in Greece, against being implicated by 
 his rash and presumptuous proceedings. After 
 he had committed all these errors, the Greek com- 
 mittee made his cause their own, by publicly ap- 
 proving of his conduct; and thus did they, too, take 
 on themselves the character of officious meddlers, 
 and under the name of friends, swell the long list 
 of the enemies of the long-suffering and deeply- 
 oppressed Greeks. This appears to me such a 
 consummation of silliness, that I hardly expect the 
 reader will credit my assertion. To convince him, 
 and satisfy him as to my veracity, I shall here 
 
•316 VOTE OF THANKS. 
 
 insert the vote of thanks given by the Greek 
 committee, as recorded in Colonel Stanhope's own 
 book : — 
 
 Greek Committee Room, \7th July, 1824. 
 
 "JOHN SMITH, Esq. M. P. in the Chair. 
 " Colonel Stanhope 's Report teas read. 
 " Resolved, 
 
 " That the Honourable Colonel Stanhope 
 is entitled to the most grateful thanks of the com- 
 mittee, for the unwearied zeal, sound discretion, and 
 extensive benevolence, manifested by him, while act- 
 ing as their agent in Greece ; and that the com- 
 mittee anticipates great benefits to Greece from 
 the exertions and suggestions which distinguished 
 his visit to that country, and desires particularly 
 to record and to communicate its high approbation 
 of his efforts to promote harmony and a good under- 
 standing among the different leaders in Greece : a 
 result greatly advanced by his conciliatory spirit and 
 superiority to party considerations. 
 
 "John Iowring, Hon. Sec." 
 
 With these remarks, I shall now lay down the 
 pen. What I have said of the conduct of other 
 persons has seemed to me necessary, either in my 
 own vindication, or in vindication of the memory 
 of my highly-valued and deeply-lamented patron 
 
CONCLUSION. 317 
 
 and friend. By the account I have given of 
 Colonel Stanhope's conduct, something too I hope 
 has been done to vindicate the cause of the Greeks 
 in the opinion of Europe, and to inspire its friends 
 with more hopes than ever of its success. It is 
 still, thank God, triumphant, and I have shewn 
 that it has had to contend, not only with numerous 
 external and barbarous foes, but that the exertions 
 of the Greeks have been crippled by the inju- 
 dicious and uncalled-for interference of pre- 
 tended friends. 
 
 POSTSCR IPT. 
 
 Since this sheet was sent to press, Mr. Blaquiere's 
 second narrative has appeared. From this we learn that 
 he also was an authorized independent agent of the 
 Greek Committee, making the third representative or 
 ambassador this mighty body had in Greece ; and all of 
 whom they meant should be there at one time. If any 
 thing more were required to shew the injudicious nature 
 of their proceedings, particularly in approving of the 
 conduct of Colonel Stanhope, it may be found in the cir- 
 cumstance that this conduct was at the time disapproved 
 of by Mr. Blaquiere. The work just published by that 
 gentleman justifies, I am happy to say, all which I have 
 stated of the conduct of Colonel Stanhope and of the 
 Greek Committee. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 A. 
 
 Account of Men and Stores, &c, &c, sent for the Greek 
 Service, viz. 
 
 Artificers for one year. 
 
 Five-master and constructor . 
 
 Clerk 
 
 Foreman of cartridge-makers 
 Founder and vice-man . 
 
 Tinman 
 
 Smith 
 
 Turner of wood and metal . 
 Wheelwright and carriage maker, 
 Carpenter 
 
 Artillery. 
 Howitzer, brass, 4§-inch, with carriage and 
 
 limber complete ........ 
 
 Gun, ditto, long three-pounder, 
 
 with carriage complete 
 
 Forge-cart, with tools complete 
 
 Mountain three-pounder brass guns, and 
 
 carriages, with side-arms, bucket, portfire, 
 
 stick and drag-ropes 10 
 
 Forge-cart, with tools complete ... 1 
 
 Munition, &,c.for ten Mountain Guns. 
 
 Gunpowder, whole barrels of lOOlbs. each, 
 LG, and S G, Tower proof . . . . 6l 
 
 Portfires (dozens) 20 
 
 Tubes (quill) G,000 
 
 Y 
 
 No. ofMei 
 and Stores 
 
 Probable Cost. 
 
 
 £. 
 
 S. 
 
 </. 
 
 l 
 
 400 
 
 
 
 
 
 l 
 
 250 
 
 
 
 
 
 l 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 
 
 l 
 
 105 
 
 
 
 
 
 l 
 
 105 
 
 
 
 
 
 l 
 
 105 
 
 
 
 
 
 l 
 
 105 
 
 
 
 
 
 l 
 
 105 
 
 
 
 
 
 l 
 
 105 
 
 
 
 
 
 l 
 
 
 
 
 
 These vren 
 Mr. Gi 
 
 given 
 
 by 
 
 
 rdon . 
 
 
 l 
 
 
 
 
 l 
 
 
 
 
 630 
 4,5 
 
 220 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
32:2 appendix. 
 
 Number of Men 
 and Stores. 
 
 Slow match (lbs.) 40 
 
 Cartridges .... (flannel serge) 4,000 
 Shot, round .... (three-pounder) 4,000 
 Bottoms of wood for three-pounder round 
 
 shot (strapped) 4,000 
 
 Pickers for vents 12 
 
 Spikes for dilto 20 
 
 Drills, new pattern, for ditto .... 2 
 
 Lint-stocks 2 
 
 Thumb-stalls 20 
 
 Tube boxes with straps 12 
 
 Grease (Firkins) 1 
 
 Cartouches of leather . . . . . . 10 
 
 Measures, copper, for powder . (8 oz.) 10 
 
 Aprons of lead . . . ' 10 
 
 Tampions with collars 10 
 
 Punches for vents 20 
 
 Barrels, Budge 2 
 
 Head sponge (spare) 40 
 
 Hammers claw 20 
 
 Powder horns, NP . . . (with straps) 10 
 
 Tarpaulins, gUn 10 
 
 Funnels, copper 10 
 
 Wheels, spare, for three-pounder mountain 
 
 guns . (pairs) 6 36 
 
 Laboratory and Carriage Manufactory, ccc. 
 on a small scale. 
 
 Furnace blast, with moulds for casting shot 
 
 and shells, and every other article required 
 
 for laboratory purposes 1 
 
 Lathe, common, with tools complete . . 1 
 
 Ditto ditto small ditto ditto . . 1 
 
 Forge, with tools complete 1 
 
 rrobaMe Cost. 
 
 £. 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 
 42 
 
 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 
 
 
 
APPENDIX. 323 
 
 Number of Men Probable Cost. 
 and Stores. 
 
 Composition 
 
 o • i £. s. d. 
 
 smith s bench, with vices and tools, com- 
 pete 1 50 
 
 Copper-smith, and tinman's forge, with tools, 
 
 complete 1 50 
 
 Brass moulds for driving portfires, fuzes, 
 signal rockets, lead balls, and other labo- 
 ratory purposes 70 
 
 Iron bar I Roimd ( tons ) 2 21 
 
 [Flat (do.) 2 20 
 
 Ditto, plated sheet (do.) 2 32 
 
 [Saltpetre, ground, in barrels of 
 
 lOOlbs. each .... 8 30 
 
 ! Sulphur, ditto, ditto, ditto, 4 12 
 
 [Charcoal, ditto, ditto, ditto, 6 14 
 
 Rosin (cwt.) 10 12 
 
 Pitch (do.) 10 10 
 
 Tallow, Russia (do.) 10 25 
 
 Spirits of wine (gal.) 20 10 
 
 Oil, sweet . (do.) 10 6 
 
 Flannel serge (yds.) 200 13 
 
 fFine, for small arm cartridges, (rms.) 40 23 
 
 Paper <j Coarse, for packing . . . (do.) 30 12 
 
 [For cannon cartridge . . (do.) 30 30 
 Iron castings, i.e. pots, cylinder, furnaces, 
 
 &c (tons) 5 100 
 
 Instruments, gauges, provette plates, and 
 
 other articles too numerous to mention, 
 
 but indispensably necessary for laboratory 
 
 and artillery purposes ..... 300 
 
 Tin sheet, and copper sheet, and other articles 100 
 
 Case-shot, musquct-ball, thrcc-pounder, 
 
 ready for immediate service .... 100 
 The whole expense of the articles, &c. might be somewhere 
 about 3500/. 
 
 V2 
 
324 APPENDIX. 
 
 B. 
 
 Articles of Agreement. — Viz. 
 
 1st. — I will engage to establish a laboratory, and in- 
 struct the Greeks in every part of that multifarious 
 business. 
 
 2dly. — I will engage to construct a gunpowder manu- 
 factory, and carry it forward in all its branches, in the 
 most economical manner. 
 
 3dly. — I will, if required, join the army and the navy, to 
 act and to give every information in my power with respect 
 to bringing into practice field and battering artillery, 
 and the use of spherical case-shot rockets, and every 
 other matter, as far as my practical knowledge extends. 
 
 4thly. — I will, if required, construct and fit fire-rockets 
 and bomb-ships, gun-boats, and every other thing con- 
 nected with a navy, as far as my knowledge extends. 
 
 C. 
 
 Plan for repairing Fortifications of Missolonghi. 
 
 Missolonghi, February Ibth, 1824. 
 
 Captain Parry's plan for placing the fortress of Misso- 
 longhi and the harbour in a state of efficient defence. — 
 To effect this object, Captain Parry requires that the 
 Prince Mavrocordato shall place 1,000 dollars at his 
 disposal, also a sufficient quantity of wood. 
 
 Artificers.' — Captain Parry will then take into pay a 
 corps of Sappers, Miners and Cannoniers ; this shall 
 consist of a quarter-master, four overseers or sergeants, 
 
APPENDIX. 325 
 
 and fifty workmen, chiefly sailors, and these men shall 
 be employed in the laboratory and constructing the forti- 
 fications, &c. The quarter-masters to receive five dol- 
 lars, the sergeants four dollars, and the men three dollars 
 each per month, with rations. 
 
 Fortifications. — Captain Parry will place the forti- 
 fications in a state of defence. He will make a traverse 
 on every battery, and will place an ammunition-chest 
 under each of them, which shall contain 100 rounds of 
 powder in cartridges for each gun, wads, &c. He will 
 put all the guns and platforms in repair, and furnish 
 rammers, head-spunges, wood-hooks, and muzzle-caps 
 for the guns. 
 
 Ammunition. — Captain P. will furnish 100 rounds of 
 powder in cartridges for each gun on the fortress, also 
 50,000 rounds of ball-cartridges for small arms. When 
 the furnace and forges are up, he will run the old iron 
 into shot and make grape-shot. These articles are worth 
 2,000 dollars. 
 
 Gun-Boats. — Captain Parry will fit up four gun-boats, 
 the materials being furnished. He will make car- 
 ronade slides on them, arrange them for oars, and make 
 a grate in one of them for heating shot. 
 
 Laboratory. — Captain Parry will also complete the 
 Laboratory, and render it fit for manufacturing the am- 
 munitions and materials of war. 
 
 Powder-Magazine. — Wood being found, Captain 
 Parry will construct a safe powder-magazine. 
 
 All these measures, Captain Parry undertakes to effect 
 at the trifling expense of 1,000 dollars. 
 
 Memorandum. — Lord Noel Byron was to pay the extra 
 expense, could the government have come forward; the 
 extra expense would have been about 3,000 dollars. 
 
326 APPENDIX. 
 
 The following was the reply to the offer. 
 
 Missolonghi, le ^th Fevrier, 1824. 
 
 Reponse au projet presente aujourd'hui par Mons. Ie 
 Capitaine Parry, relativement a la fortification de la 
 ville et du port de Missolonghi. 
 
 La somme de mille talaris sera remise a Monsieur le 
 Capitaine Parry : un tiers de cette somme lui sera compte 
 le jour meme qu'il fixera pour le commencement du 
 travail, ce qui doit etre a quatre jours d'aujourd'hui au 
 plus tard ; les deux autres tiers lui seront remis a 
 quatorze et a. vingt-un jour d'aujourd'hui. 
 
 Quant au bois necessaire, Mons. le Capitaine Parry 
 doit presenter une liste approximative de la quantite et 
 de la qualite du bois dont il aurabesoin. En attendant, 
 corame il se trouve quelques gros arbres de chene a une 
 petite distance de la ville, Monsieur le Capitaine Parry 
 pourra disposer de ce bois, s'il le juge a-propos. 
 
 Ouvrier. — Mons. le Capitaine Parry pourra former 
 la compagnie de sapeurs, mineurs, et canoniers, en faisant 
 le choix qui lui convient le plus ; mais comme le 
 gouvernement suppose que les personnes composant 
 cette compagnie pourront exiger la ration au dessus de 
 la solde indiquee dans le projet, il promet de la fournir. 
 
 Fortifications. — Le gouvernement est d'accord sur 
 tout ce qui est rapporte dans le projet de Monsieur le 
 Capitaine Parry relativement aux fortifications : il se 
 remet a ses talents pour l'amelioration et la surete du 
 travail. 
 
 Munitions. — Le gouvernement est egalement par- 
 faitement d'accord sur cet article. 
 
 Barques Canonieres. — Le gouvernement desire con- 
 
APPENDIX. 327 
 
 naitre la quantite et la qualite du bois necessaire pour la 
 construction de ces barques. En attendant, il peut 
 mettre a la disposition de Monsieur le Capitaine Parry 
 le corps d'un trabacle, et de quelque autres barques, si 
 Monsieur le Capitaine Parry croit pouvoir en tirer 
 quelque parti. 
 
 Laboratoire et Magasin a Poudre. — On est encore 
 parfaitement d'accord sur ces deux articles. 
 
 (Translation.) 
 
 Missolonghi, the -ggth February, 1824. 
 
 Reply to the plan presented this day by Captain Parry, 
 relative to the fortification of the town and harbour of 
 Missolonghi. 
 
 The sum of 1000 dollars shall be given to Captain 
 Parry, one-third part of it to be paid to him on the day he 
 fixes for commencing the work, which must be at the 
 latest four days from this date. The other two-thirds 
 shall be paid to him, one on the fourteenth, and the 
 other on the twenty-first day from this date. 
 
 As to the wood necessary for the work, Captain Parry 
 should give in an estimate of the quantity and quality of 
 the wood he will require. In the mean time, as there 
 are some large oak trees at a small distance from the 
 town, Captain Parry may make what use of them he 
 thinks proper. 
 
 Workmen. — Captain Parry may form a company of 
 sappers, miners, and gunners, by making such a choice 
 as he thinks fit; but as the government supposes the 
 persons composing this company may demand larger pay 
 than that mentioned in the plan, it promises to pay 
 them, 
 
328 APPENDIX. 
 
 Fortifications. — The government consents to every 
 thing stated in the plan of Captain Parry as to the forti- 
 fications. It confides in his talents for the execution and 
 solidity of the work. 
 
 Munitions. — The government also perfectly agrees 
 with the plan in this article. 
 
 Gun-Boats. — The government wishes to know what 
 quantity and quality of wood are necessary to construct 
 gun-boats. In the mean time, it can place at Captain 
 Parry's disposal, the hull of a Trabacle and of some 
 other boats, if Cptain Parry supposes he can make any 
 use of them. 
 
 Laboratory and Magazine. — On these two points 
 also, the government consents fully to Captain Parry's 
 proposals. 
 
 D. 
 
 Prince Mavrocordato's sketch for the operations of the 
 Campaign, 1824, viz.: — 
 
 1st. To call out the fleet immediately for service. 
 
 2nd. To call out the army. 
 
 3rd. To repair the fortifications. 
 
 4th. To appropriate a sum for the immediate purchase 
 of shot, shell, gunpowder, and other materials of war, 
 being very much wanted. 
 
 E. 
 
 Lord Byron's offer to the Greeks. 
 
 1st. His Lordship would pay every expense of his 
 artillery corps, and raise his brigade up to 500 effective 
 
APPENDIX. 329 
 
 men, exclusive of officers, commissary and laboratory 
 corps. 
 
 2nd. His Lordship to purchase two vessels to be fitted 
 for fire-vessels, agreeably to a plan submitted and ap- 
 proved of, the crews to be paid and victualled at his 
 Lordship's expense. 
 
 3rd. His Lordship would detach six 3-pounder moun- 
 tain guns wherever the government should think proper 
 for the defence of the passes, with 350 rounds of ammu- 
 nition per gun, and every other material requisite. 
 
 4th. That four 3-pounders, short, and one 3-pounder, 
 long, mountain guns, and the 4-?- howitzer, should be 
 exclusively attached to his Lordship's brigade, with 
 350 rounds per gun, and every other material requi- 
 site. 
 
 5th. That in consideration of such assistance, the 
 Greek government to attach 1,500 effective men and 
 officers to Lord Byron's brigade, the expense to be paid 
 by the Greek government ; which would raise his Lord- 
 ship's force to 2,000 effective men, exclusive of officers, 
 commissary and laboratory corps, and crews of the fire- 
 vessels ; and that the brigade, with every material of war, 
 should be ready to march by the 7th day of May for a 
 particular service. 
 
 To carry this plan into execution, the following sums 
 were to be placed at my disposoal, subject to Lord 
 Byron's inspection, which he thought would be sufficient 
 to pay the expense of the brigade the ensuing campaign ; 
 viz. : — 
 
 11,000 dollars at Missolonghi. 
 
 10,000 dollars in the hands of the agents in the 
 islands. 
 
330 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 4,000/. to be drawn on Ransom and Co., Bankers, 
 London . 
 
 20,000 dollars lent, which will be paid back from the 
 loan. 
 
 (Translation.) 
 
 Prince Mavrocordato to Captain Blaquiere. 
 
 Missolonghi, 10-22 May, 1824. 
 My very dear Friend, 
 
 You will find enclosed extracts from an inter- 
 cepted letter of Yousouf Pacha, and from another which 
 General Scaltza has just addressed to me. You will there 
 see the imminence of the danger if the plan of the enemy 
 is not paralyzed, and I see no other expedient than the 
 fitting out our fleet as speedily as possible to meet that 
 of Egypt, which may be attacked with so much the more 
 advantage, as it will have to protect more than two hun- 
 dred transports. The naval expedition once paralyzed, 
 there will be no longer any thing to fear from the land- 
 expeditions, and the whole of the enemy's plan for the 
 campaign will be overthrown. But to fit out the fleet, 
 money will be wanting : will it be granted ? Let it be 
 reserved for a better occasion. General Scaltza asks 
 assistance: how is it to be sent him? Can I determine 
 the Suliots ? Ah ! could I have done so, they should not 
 now have been in these unfortunate towns, exacting what 
 we cannot procure them, and threatening the little that 
 remains of Western Greece with total destruction. But 
 Avhat matters it to me whether these two towns, which 
 
APPENDIX, 331 
 
 have already twice served as bulwarks to the Peloponnes- 
 sus, and even to the whole of Greece, fall under the ven- 
 geance of the Suliotes or of the Pacha of Scoudra ? It is 
 all one. 
 
 Ammunition is demanded on all sides, and I have not 
 even a thousand pounds of lead. We owe you an infinite 
 deal of gratitude for the powder which you have pro- 
 cured for us by means of your guarantee. Without that, 
 we should have been equally in want of it also. I know 
 not what difficulties it has been wished even now to 
 raise, with respect to the employment of the money 
 destined for the repairs of the fortifications, and placed 
 by Count Gamba in the charge of a commission. This 
 money, they say, belongs to the committee, and, in 
 pursuance of an order of Colonel Stanhope, cannot be 
 made use of until the arrival of Mr. Gordon. I have 
 not yet had time to inform myself well upon the subject ; 
 but this would be very extraordinary, as I think I am 
 sure that this money belongs to his Lordship, and that it 
 was by himself that it was destined to that purpose. 
 Moreover, the Colonel says nothing to me about it in his 
 letter, of which I send you a copy, and on which you will 
 undoubtedly permit me to make some observations to 
 you, which I reserve to myself to make also to him, in an 
 answer which will be addressed to him in London, as I 
 am assured that he was to quit Zante the day before 
 yesterday. 
 
 The Colonel desires me to deliver to Mr. Trelawny 
 three cannons and a howitzer, the only one in the place, 
 together with the necessary ammunition, for General 
 Ulysses. I foresee that I shall meet with many difficul- 
 ties on the part of the people, who, seeing this town 
 threatened by land and sea, and knowing the great need 
 
332 APPENDIX. 
 
 that there is of cannon, and the almost total want of am- 
 munition, will not undoubtedly see with indifference all 
 these objects carried away from hence, while it was 
 already in agitation to place these cannon at Procopa- 
 nistos, and on the batteries of the wings. I will, never- 
 theless, do all in my power to prevent a tumult on their 
 part ; but Mr. Trelawny has also wished to carry off, in 
 the first place, the whole brigade of artillery, by engaging 
 the officers and soldiers belonging to it unknown to me ; 
 which, having obliged me to recal these brave men to 
 their duty, he has since come to ask my permission to take 
 with him a part of the brigade. This would be uselessly 
 to divide a corps, which, instead of being thus weakened, 
 ought, on the contrary, to be increased, in order to fulfil 
 the object for which it was created. 
 
 I pass on to the last paragraph, the principal object, as 
 I believe, of the letter of the Colonel ; I have nothing to 
 appropriate to myself of all that he writes. If lie is 
 attached to our constitution, I think that he, whose boast 
 it is to have contributed to its formation, ought to be 
 much more so than any other. I know (and I have even 
 all the documents in my hands) thatM. Negri addressed, 
 more than eighteen months ago, circulars in favour of a 
 monarchical government, of which the ex-King of West- 
 phalia, Jerome, was to be the head, and I also know that 
 I was the first to combat his opinion. Should this 
 M. Negri be the bad man of Colonel Stanhope 1 I know 
 positively also, that under the shadow of the constitution, 
 several Captains do that which the greatest despots in 
 the world would not, perhaps, do ; that they break legs 
 and arms, and leave in this state of the most dreadful 
 torture, innocent men to perish; that they kill, that they 
 hang, that they destroy men without previous trial ; that 
 
APPENDIX. 333 
 
 they allow themselves all sorts of vexations ; that they 
 revolt ; that they even betray their country. Should 
 these be the Colonel's good men* ? These latter I have 
 always opposed, even at the peril of my life ; but I have 
 always respected and maintained the constitution, the 
 constitution in its strength and activity, and the Colonel 
 appears only to be running after its shadow. All that I 
 say to you, my dear friend, I will not hesitate to say 
 before the whole world. 
 
 Mr. Trelawny thinks it necessary that you should go 
 to Hydra, and I think it more necessary to send money 
 thither, that the fleet may be immediately fitted out. My 
 opinion is, that you should either remain at Zante until 
 the arrival of Mr. Gordon, or come hither and proceed 
 to the seat of government. I have just learned that Mr. 
 Trelawny is quite enraged against me, perhaps on ac- 
 count of the brigade. I laugh at his rage. This con- 
 duct, on the part of these gentlemen, is well worthy of 
 the love of liberty of which they wish to make their boast. 
 Can there be a more cruel despotism than that of a fo- 
 reigner, who, without any right whatever, wishes to 
 command, without the least regard to the existing laws ? 
 My God ! does the first comer think then that he can 
 tread us under his feet, or are we thought capable of 
 being led by the nose by the first intriguer ? Have we 
 shaken ofFthe Ottoman yoke, only to fall beneath ano- 
 ther ? Oh, no ! It has been said that I have sold Greece 
 
 * In another place, Zaime, a great primate, tells Colonel Stan- 
 hope, " that the Captains had driven the people mad ;" and yet, 
 these are the men Colonel Stanhope and the Greek committee 
 support. The Colonel even said, " that robbery and murder in 
 war were considered justifiable, and that it was by these means 
 the Captains had kept up a marshal spirit in the nation," p. 203. 
 
334 APPENDIX. 
 
 to England. Greece still exists, and those who were the 
 bearers of my letters to England know well what they 
 contained, and whether I have sold my country. I believe 
 that I have been of service to her ; it was my duty. It is 
 now said that I wish for a despot ; no, it is just because 
 I do not want one that I am accused. I wish that the 
 laws may reign, and that they may not be at the discre- 
 tion of a hundred despots who trample them under foot. 
 I have always given, and I am still the first to give, an 
 example of obedience ; but if Greece is fated to fall at 
 the feet of a military despotism, of a hydra, not with 
 seven, but with a hundred heads, I will neither be the 
 blind instrument, nor the very humble servant of these 
 new tyrants. Adieu, my dear friend ; I hope soon to see 
 you ; do all that you can to assist my unhappy country in 
 this critical moment ; provide for the fitting out of the 
 fleet, and, if possible, make useful the corps of Suliotes, 
 Avho are not only useless here, but who even menace us 
 with an intestine war. Accept the assurance of my 
 devotion. You may make whatever use you may think 
 
 proper of my letter. 
 
 A. Mavrocordato. 
 
 G. 
 
 Prince Mavrocordato to Count Gamba. 
 
 MissoloJighi, le 7—19 Mat, 1824. 
 
 Monsieur le Comte, 
 
 A mon arrivee d'Anatolico hier, Mr. Basil i 
 m'a remis la lettre que vous m'avez fait l'honneur de 
 m'ecrire en date du 7. J'espere que celle que je vous ai 
 addresse, il y a trois jours d'Anatolico, vous est ex- 
 
APPENDIX. ,335 
 
 actement parvenue, et que vous y avez vu tout ce que 
 je dois souftrir ici. Vous savez tres bien M. Le Comte, 
 quelle etoit notre situation plusieurs jours meme avant 
 la mort de My Lord, avec quelles conditions nous avions 
 pris des provisions de plusieurs sujets Ioniennes, et quel 
 etoit rnon embarras lorsque je me suis vu oblge de re- 
 fuser les payements it l'echeance des termes. Depuis lors 
 je ne fais que recevoir protestations sur protestations de 
 la part de ceux dout nous avons enleve la propriete, et 
 d'une autre cote je suis oblige de me procurer continuel- 
 lement les vivres necessaires, et payer journellement les 
 rations des Suliotes sans avoir un seul sou a ma dispo- 
 sition. Si du moins l'affaire des Suliotes etoit arrange le 
 mal n'auroit pas encore etoit si insupportable ; mais 
 chaque jourde Ieur presence devient pour nous line aug- 
 mentation de fardeau, et notre situation est devenue 
 non seulement critique mais irremediable. Vous verrez 
 dans l'extrait d'une lettre du gouvernement, combien on 
 y etoit impatient de voir arriver M. le Colonel Stanhope. 
 Je ne saurai vous dire quel effety aura produit la nouvelle 
 de son depart pour Zante; mais je n'ai aucune diffi- 
 culte a le prevoir. Le decouragement et l'inaction sont 
 toutce que Ton a a craindre de moins, et c'est cependant 
 dans un moment ou l'ennemi paroit agir avec la plus 
 grandeenergie, independemment de 1'arrivee de sa flotte 
 a Negropont, d'ou elle pourra se promener sans obsta- 
 cle partout ou elle voudra, puisque la notre n'est pas 
 encore sortie. Nous savons positivement que l'expedition 
 de l'Egypte est poussee avec la plus grande activite, et 
 nous avons vu hier sortir du Golphe de Lepante toute 
 la flotte qui s'y trouvoit, et qui, d'apres le rapport d'un 
 bateau arrive ce soir des chateaux, doitse rqndre a 
 Alexandrie pour rcvenir en compagnie de la meme ex- 
 
336 APPENDIX. 
 
 pedition. Des lettres dePalamos nous apprennent aussi 
 qu' Omer Pacha est arrive a Jannina, et que le Pacha 
 de Scoudra traversoit l'Albanie pour se rendre a Berat, 
 d'ou immediatement apres les fetes du Bairam, il de- 
 voit se diriger sur l'Acarnanie et l'CEtolie. Supposezdonc 
 quel est mon embarras n'ayant pas les moyens de faire 
 ce que je dois pour assurer la defense du pays qui 
 manque en meme terns de provisions et de munitions de 
 guerre. Nou sn'avons surtout presque point de plomb et 
 tres peu de poudre. Je fais continuer les reparations des 
 fortifications de cette ville avec la plus grande activite 
 possible, les cent tallaris que My Lord a destine a la 
 fortification d'Anatolico y sont egalement employe ; 
 mais les deux chateaux si necessaires a la defense de 
 cette ville ne peuvent pas meme etre entames, et elle 
 sera de nouveau exposee si l'ennemi arrive jusque' a. non 
 portes: telle est notre situation. En attendant, 1'argent 
 qui vient d'arriver n'est pas encore mis a. la disposition 
 du Gouvernement ; je vois des entraves ou des projets 
 d'entraves partout, tandis qu' il etoit non seulement ne- 
 cessaire, mais urgent, d'utilizer cet argent le plutot pos- 
 sible, en le partageant entre les depenses de la flotte et 
 celle des armees qui marcheroient en avant du cote de 
 terre, apres en avoir destine une partie pour l'achat des 
 provisions etdes munitions necessaires, et une autre pour 
 la reparation des fortifications d'Athenes, de Missolon- 
 ghi et d'Anatolico. Je n'attribue le retard de la ratifica- 
 tion de Temprunt, qu' a l'espoir que le gouvernement 
 avoit de voir bientot pres de lui M. le Colonel Stanhope, 
 qui auroit bien mieux fait de prendre cette direction, 
 que de se rendre a Zante, ou se trouvant separe de M. 
 Condurriotti, il ne peut que rester inactif dans des mo- 
 mens si critiques. Tout afflige que je suis de cet etiit de 
 
APPENDIX. 337 
 
 choses, je ne manquerai pas de faire mon devoir autant 
 
 qui il m'est permis de le faire ; mais si les Souliotes, de- 
 
 sesperant d'avoir leux solde, entreprennent de faire ce 
 
 qu' avec la plus grande peine du monde nous avons pu 
 
 empecher jusque' a present, alors, je vous le declare 
 
 franchement, mon cher M. le Comte, il ne me reste ni 
 
 espoir ni moyen de faire mon devoir. N'etant pas en etat 
 
 d'empecher le mat et n'ayant pas pu le prevenir ma 
 
 conscience sera toujours libre ; mais le mal se fera, et il 
 
 s ra irremediable. Si vous etes en etat de contribuer a 
 
 ce que nous prevenions ce danger, faites tout ce qu'il 
 
 dependra de vous ; je vous prie surtout de vouloir bien 
 
 donner communication de la presente a M. Blaquiere, 
 
 a, qui jen'ai que le terns d'ecrire deux mots, la barque 
 
 devant partir immediatement. Si on peut obtenir quel- 
 
 ques secours pour les fortifications, je trouveabsolument 
 
 necessaire la presence de M. Parry. II ne sera pas moins 
 
 necessaire de garder, d'agumenter meme s'il est possible, 
 
 la brigade d'artillerie ; mais avec quels moyens, mon 
 
 Dieu, pourrons nous le faire? nous manquons absolu- 
 
 ment de tout. Faites agreer mes respects a tous nos 
 
 amis, et agreez pour vous 1'assurance de mon estime et 
 
 de ma consideration distinguee, 
 
 Votre devoue serviteur et ami, 
 
 A. Mavrocordato. 
 
 (Translation). 
 
 Missolonghi, May 7—19, 1824. 
 My Dear Count, 
 
 On my arrival yesterday from Anatolica, Mr. 
 Basili put into my hands the letter which you did me 
 the honour to write on the 7th. I hope that the one 
 which I sent to you three days ago from Anatolica has 
 
 z 
 
338 APPENDIX. 
 
 reached you ; and that you will have seen by it what I 
 have to bear here. You know very well what was our 
 situation several days before the death of Lord Byron, 
 under what conditions we had taken provisions from se- 
 veral Ionian subjects, and what was my embarrassment 
 when I saw myself obliged to refuse the payments at the 
 term promised. From that time I have continually re- 
 ceived protestation after protestation from those whose 
 property we carried away. On the other hand I have 
 been obliged to provide the daily supplies, and to pay 
 the Suliotes daily, without having a single sous at my 
 disposal. If the business with the Suliotes had been 
 arranged, the evil would not have been so insupportable, 
 but every day while they remain is for us an augmenta- 
 tion of our difficulties, and our situation has become not 
 only critical but irremediable. You will see by the ex- 
 tract from the letter of the government, how impatient 
 they were for Colonel Stanhope's arrival. I cannot de- 
 scribe to you what effect the news of his departure for 
 Zante will have had there ; but I have no difficulty in 
 foreseeing it. The discouragement and inaction, are 
 what are to be least feared, and this happens at the very 
 moment when the enemy appears disposed to act with the 
 greatest energy, independent of the arrival of the fleet 
 at Negropont, whence it may go wherever it pleases, 
 without any obstacle, for our fleet is not yet got out of 
 harbour. We know positively that the expedition from 
 Egypt is hurried forward with the greatest activity, and 
 yesterday we saw the whole fleet which was in the gulf 
 of Lepanto come out, and according to the report 
 brought by a vessel arrived this evening, is going to 
 Alexandria, to return with the expedition from that 
 place. Letters from Calamos say also that Omar Pasha 
 
APPENDIX. 339 
 
 has arrived at Janina, and the Pasha of Scoudra is now 
 traversing Albania, to reach Barat, whence he is to 
 proceed into Arcarnania and Etolia, immediately after the 
 feast of Bairam. You may judge, then, of my embar- 
 rassment, not having the means of doing what is neces- 
 sary for the defence of the country, which is in want of 
 both provisions and ammunition. We have no lead, 
 and very little powder. I continue the repairs of the 
 fortifications of this town with all the activity possible. 
 The one hundred dollars appropriated by my Lord for 
 the fortifications of Anatolica, are employed for that 
 purpose ; but the two castles so necessary for the de- 
 fence of the town cannot be even commenced with, and 
 we shall be again exposed if the enemy reaches our 
 gates. Such is our situation. In the mean time the 
 money which has arrived has not been made over to the 
 government. I see obstacles; or plans for making ob- 
 stacles everywhere, while it is not only necessary but 
 urgent to employ the money as soon as possible, ap- 
 propriating it to the pay, the expense of the fleet and of 
 the army, which is to proceed in advance by the sea 
 coast, after appropriating a part of it to purchase pro- 
 visions and necessary ammunition, and applying a por- 
 tion of it to repair the fortifications of Athens, Misso- 
 longhi, and Anatolica. I can only attribute the delay in 
 ratifying the loan to the hope which the government 
 has of soon seeing Colonel Stanhope, who would 
 have done much better to have gone to its seat, than to 
 Zante, where, being separated from M. Conduriottis, 
 he can only remain inactive at this critical moment. 
 Afflicted as I am at this state of things, I shall not neg- 
 lect to do my duty as far as lies in my power, but if 
 the Suliotes, despairing of obtaining their pay, under- 
 take to do what we have hitherto prevented them from 
 
 Z2 
 
340 APPENDIX. 
 
 doing with the greatest difficulty, I declare M. le Comte, 
 that then there will remain in my power neither hopes 
 nor means of doing my duty. Not being able to prevent 
 the mischief, and not having had it in my power to pre- 
 vent it, my conscience will be pure, but the mischief 
 will be accomplished, and it will be irremediable. If 
 you have it in your power to contribute any thing to 
 ward off the danger, do what you can, I beg of you ; 
 particularly communicate this to Mr. Blaquiere, to whom 
 I have only time to write a single word, the boat going 
 this instant. If any assistance can be obtained for the 
 fortifications, the presence of Mr. Parry will be neces- 
 sary. It will not be less necessary to preserve and to 
 augment if possible the brigade of artillery ; but, good 
 God ! what means have we for doing it ? We are des- 
 titute of every thing. I beg my respect to all our 
 friends, &c. &c. Mavrocordato. 
 
 H. 
 
 From Major Parry to Mr. Bowring. 
 
 Missolonghi, Western Greece, 
 March 20, 1824. 
 Sir, 
 
 I wrote a short time back, and represented the 
 
 conduct of the mechanics sent out, and of the difficulties 
 experienced in carrying on the service in this country. 
 The state of men and things are no ways mended for 
 the better ; and however the prince who commands at 
 this place may be competent to meet the officers at the 
 seat of government, he is by no means sufficiently 
 active at a place like Missolonghi ; although Lord Byron 
 
APPENDIX. 341 
 
 treats him with the most marked respect and kind- 
 ness, not only supporting; him in everyway possible, 
 but actually supplying his private pecuniary wants. 
 And with respect to the public service preparatory to 
 the ensuing - campaign, nothing would have been done 
 had it not been done by the enormous sacrifice in money 
 his Lordship has supplied ; and I assure you, Sir, the 
 support given to me by his Lordship has saved the whole 
 of the arduous service under my direction and instruc- 
 tion from being put a stop to. Previous to my arrival, 
 nothing but impositions were practised, not merely by 
 the natives, but by foreigners of every description, for 
 no country verifies more truly the story of the prince 
 and the basket-maker ; and my Lord Byron has timely 
 discovered the inutility of theoretical fools and designing 
 puppies ; but under all these disappointments, he seems 
 determined to persevere, not only with his person but 
 his purse ; and I am happy to say, he is looked up to 
 by every practical doing man with the greatest admira- 
 tion and respect. Yet with all these inestimable qua- 
 lities, no openness of disposition is shewn towards 
 him, not even a clue to the state of things, and no 
 means are left untried to defraud him. The Greeks 
 generally are, particularly the higher order, deceitful ; 
 the country people better than the town ; the poor bet- 
 ter than the rich ; the soldiery, generally, not bad ; for 
 although generally without pay, they behave well 
 against the enemy in that sort of warfare suitable to 
 Greece, and I have found some very willing useful men 
 of quick ideas, whom I now employ in the arsenal, &c, 
 and who have very naturally represented that foreigners 
 cannot expect to be either respected or protected by the 
 
342 APPENDIX. 
 
 good well-meaning part of the people, without they pos- 
 sess either property or some little practical instruction 
 and willingness, combined with industry, to shew and 
 direct the people which way to supply the wants of 
 the country ; and I have no doubt, should Providence 
 permit an active, intelligent, and patriotic government 
 to be formed, Greece would soon take its place in the 
 scale of nations, and the Greeks be a happy people. And 
 I must observe again, that no person should come out 
 under pretence of assisting the Greeks, excepting gentle- 
 men of fortune, to help them in their pecuniary difficulties 
 and distress ; and by their honourable dealings, to teach 
 integrity to the rising generation of the other classes — 
 Real practical men and no others. Such as the officer of 
 the navy, who can not only build the ship, but fit her out 
 complete, and be able to fight her afterwards, acting the 
 part of an able seaman and bold officer ; as the officer 
 of artillery, who particularly understands and is capable 
 of shewing and instructing in the formation of every 
 article required, and of acting the part of an able ser- 
 geant-major; and such as the officer of engineers, who is 
 able and willing to shew the formation of every requisite, 
 and to work himself, and not depend upon either mathe- 
 matical instruments or drawings, but to adopt every want 
 agreeably to the powers of the country. Such men 
 would be really useful ; no other should come until this 
 country is able to maintain privileged pretenders. 
 
 Of news: — A congress of chiefs is about to be held 
 at Salona, if possible to arrange matters, which I most 
 fervently hope may take place, and be of service to this 
 unhappy, afflicted country. Lord Byron is most strenu- 
 ously invited to attend the congress, and his Lordship 
 
APPENDIX. 343 
 
 means to use every endeavour to form a general coalition 
 and unanimity among the leading characters about to 
 be present. But I hope and trust that no sinister views 
 are in embryo, to wring unjustly his Lordship's pro- 
 perty, under pretence of forwarding the Greek cause. 
 The Greek fleet is in a state of inactivity, and not very 
 likely to take active measures, without pecuniary means 
 are given. The Hydriot fleet are laid up, and the Spes- 
 siots nearly in the same condition : indeed I am sorry to 
 say that in this department there seems to be no uni- 
 formity of action, but separate interests and separate 
 views still exist. 
 
 The army, if it may be called so, is divided into se- 
 parate companies, under separate captains, and acting 
 separately, agreeable to their own ideas and means, viz. 
 Prince Mavrocordato at Missolonghi ; Ulysses at Athens ; 
 Londa at Volitze ; Zaim at Calaventa ; Colocotroni at 
 Tripolitza, acting against the existing government; 
 Jahacus at Mistra; and M. Tombassi at Candia ; and 
 however they are disunited among themselves, they 
 unite, although acting separately, when the common 
 enemy appears. This, combined with the stupidity of 
 the Turks, gives some hopes for the final emancipation 
 of Greece. Lord Byron's auxiliary corps, of which I 
 have the honour of being captain and inspector, I am 
 happy to say, goes on well, although necessity, from ir- 
 regular conduct and other matters, obliged the re-orga- 
 nization of the corps, and will be fit for actual service 
 by the middle of April, with 300 rounds of ammunition 
 for guns, &c ; and his Lordship intends augmenting 
 the corps, should any chance of success appear. 
 
 I have made up some stores, gunpowder, &c. to be 
 
344 APPENDIX. 
 
 sent to General Ulysses, and I expect two officers and 
 twelve men, Greeks, of General Londa's troops, to 
 instruct in artillery practice, &c. General Londa is to 
 have two and three-pounder mountain guns, munition, 
 &c. attached to his brigade ; and I expect other captains 
 attached to the Greek government will require as far as 
 our means go. Iron shot are very much required here, 
 and should the Committee send out stores, pray forward 
 3-po. 4-po. 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24-po., and some new 
 pattern grape shot. (Mr. Friend has a pattern, and can 
 supply this article), and muskets with bayonets, cartouch 
 boxes, prickers, brushes and worms, are much wanted, 
 for I am actually at this time obliged to purchase of the 
 Germans muskets, swords, &c. at his Lordship's ex- 
 pense ; and what is most inexplicable to me is, that the 
 German agents of the German Committee, Messrs. De- 
 launey and Coleby, should have power to sell the clothing, 
 &c. which came out in the brig Ann, and which articles 
 have been purchased to clothe and accoutre Lord Byrorts 
 auxiliary corps. Colonel Stanhope gave 1001. towards 
 clothing the corps. I have drawn a bill upon Sig. C. 
 Jerostatte, to the amount of 3801., the sum the me- 
 chanics, their wives, and securities in the hands of the 
 banker, would have amounted to, had they conducted 
 themselves properly, and remained in Greece according 
 to the agreement made with them one year from the 
 time of their departure from London. 
 
 Thank God, health prevails at this present time in 
 Continental Greece, and should success attend the en- 
 suing campaign, the real friends of Greece may look 
 forward with pleasure for better prospects. Messrs. 
 Hodges and Gill behave exceeding well, and are very 
 
APPENDIX. 345 
 
 useful to the service, and I have engaged a young man, 
 a Mr. Jervis, an American, who has shared in the toils 
 and dangers of Greece, both by sea and land, these last 
 three years. I am, Sir, with great respect, &c. 
 
 W. Parry, 
 
 Fire Master, GI. 
 
 P.S. Lord Byron has advanced 1600 Spanish dollars 
 on account of the draft on Sig. C. Jerostatte, which I 
 hope and trust will be duly honoured. W. P. 
 
 Mem. Tis utterly impossible to draw a bill at this 
 place, or indeed in any other part of Continental Greece, 
 and it has actually cost his Lordship nearly 1000 dollars 
 to provide money and other supplies from the Ionian 
 Islands since his arrival at Missolonghi. W. P. 
 
 J. Bowring, Esq. 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE LETTERS. 
 
 {Copy.) No. 1. 
 
 Zante, May, 1824. 
 Being the official representative of the late Lord 
 Gordon Noel Byron, as respected his late Lordship's public 
 expenditure and intentions in Greece, and it appearing 
 that the bill upon SignorE. Jerostatte, of Corfu, has not 
 been paid into your hands, I request as a safety to the 
 property remaining to be expended in the service of 
 Greece, and for which I am responsible, that you will 
 be pleased to write to Missolonghi, to the address of 
 J. M. Hodges, and desire him to deliver what monies 
 
346 APPENDIX. 
 
 and the books of the accounts of the laboratory expendi- 
 ture, 8fC., in his possession, and hand them over imme- 
 diately to the charge of the Prince of Mavrocordato and 
 Mr. George Jervis, whom I wish to place as my agents 
 until I may return to Greece ; having service of im- 
 portance to transact, and to which Colonel L. Stan- 
 hope, the Acting Commissioner, would not pay any atten- 
 tion, although Colonel Stanhope knew that I had the full 
 confidence and carried into execution the service of the 
 late Lord Gordon N. Byron, First Commissioner and 
 Colonel-in-Chief of the Auxiliary Brigade of Western 
 Greece, my commanding officer. 
 
 I, therefore, Sir, trust your being his late Lordship's 
 agent for money-affairs at Zante, and I having no other 
 means of guarantee for the safety of the remaining part 
 of his late Lordship's property to be expended in the 
 public service in Greece until my return, beg your 
 promptly given the afore-mentioned order, as I cannot 
 any longer intrust a man who, I find, has been holding a 
 secret correspondence with Colonel Stanhope, to the 
 injury of the public service, by the attempt to bring 
 into disrepute his superior officer, and, Sir, that officer 
 myself, who acted immediately under the strict com- 
 mands of the Lord G. N. Byron, First Commissioner 
 and Colonel-in-Chief of the Auxiliary Brigade of Western 
 
 Greece. 
 
 I am, 
 
 With the greatest respect, 
 
 Your very humble Servant, 
 
 Wm. Parry. 
 
 Samuel Barf, Esq. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 347 
 
 {Copy.) No. 2. 
 
 Zante, May, 1824. 
 Honourable Sir, 
 
 I very respectfully beg to acknowledge the receipt 
 of your note, and have, in reply, to inform you that 
 Count P. Gamba not being perfectly conversant in the 
 English language must have misunderstood, as I believe 
 I can place the most perfect reliance on the Count ; I 
 wish such matter to be properly understood. 
 
 The Count said, " Have you seen Colonel Stanhope ? " 
 "Yes, I have seen him, and asked him if any commands 
 or orders : the answer was, Not any." The Count said, 
 " What do you mean to do without funds and a supply 
 of materials," which I fully expected to procure at this 
 place, as the money appropriated for the pay of military, 
 fortifications, fyc, will be expended by the end of the 
 month, and I have fully arranged every thing up to that 
 time. I am placed in a very unpleasant situation, parti- 
 cularly from matters which I cannot, without a perfect 
 security for myself, and an investigation of my conduct, 
 take upon myself to act in any way : but this much, I 
 will never permit any man, a subordinate, to hold 
 correspondence to bring the service into contempt, and 
 endeavour to prejudice falsely, when it is a well-known 
 fact that no part of the public service was carried into 
 effect without the orders of the First Commissioner and 
 my Commanding Officer of the Auxiliary Brigade, the 
 late Lord G. N. Byron, and to whom I had to look up to 
 for every para for carrying on the public service, there 
 being no other funds excepting his late Lordship's 
 
348 APPENDIX. 
 
 private purse. The Prince Mavrocordato his late Lord- 
 ship ordered me to pay every deference to, and to in- 
 stantly comply, if possible, with every requisition the 
 Prince might make for the public service ; the Prince 
 being Governor of Western Greece, and whose com- 
 mands were to be strictly obeyed. 
 
 I now, Honourable Sir, cannot suppose in what way 
 I have acted improperly ; and, with respect to yourself, 
 Honourable Sir, I ever have considered your private 
 and public character to be held in the highest respect and 
 veneration. 
 
 I have written over to Missolonghi for instructions, 
 
 and my intentions are to have perfect security from the 
 
 Greek government, and, if required, an investigation 
 
 into my conduct, and I trust that T. Gordon, Esq. will 
 
 arrive soon; and should matters be arranged to my 
 
 satisfaction, I will immediately return to Greece, if not 
 
 I shall proceed to England. 
 
 I am, Honourable Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient, 
 
 Very humble Servant, 
 
 Wm. Parry. 
 The Hon. Col. Stanhope. 
 
 {Copy.) No. 3. 
 
 Xante, May 1 5th, 1824. 
 Honourable Sir, 
 
 In answer to your questions, I give the following 
 
 replies: — 
 
 1st. In my letter to you, Sir, I have fully explained my 
 
 reasons, and they are official, for my stop at Zante. I 
 
APPENDIX. 349 
 
 consider myself ill-used, particularly as Lord Byron is no 
 more. 
 
 2d. The public service was at a stand, and Lord Byron 
 said he would find funds out of his private purse sooner 
 than the public service should be injured. I mentioned 
 to him the sum the mechanics would forfeit should the 
 Committee think proper: his Lordship said, make out 
 the account, and I will advance it ; but you may depend 
 that the Committee will not pay the sum, therefore I 
 will draw upon my agents at Zante ; but, should the 
 money be paid at a future time, it shall be placed in 
 your hands, in addition to what I advance, and be ex- 
 pended in the further service of the country. 
 
 3d. The five hundred dollars issued from the funds of 
 the Laboratory Department was ordered on account of 
 the extreme urgency of the service, and knowing his late 
 Lordship's mind, and considering that his Lordship 
 would be at the expense of the Laboratory Department, 
 fyc, ultimately, and that money was placed at my dis- 
 posal by his Lordship, I therefore, for the benefit of the 
 public service, directed that sum to be added to five 
 hundred dollars of his Lordship's other funds, which I 
 had power to do, and no further. 
 
 4th. The giving up of the stores to the general autho- 
 rity for security, Sfc, fyc, taking the receipt of the Prince 
 Mavrocordato, on account of the Greek government, that 
 nothing should be purloined, which I was obliged to 
 do in the instance of the mutiny of the troops, and re- 
 moved the gunpowder from the Seraglio for its better 
 security; and knowing that at the expiration of this 
 month the corps in the pay of the late Lord Byron, who 
 now guard the Seraglio, would cease to be such, and 
 therefore every guard and security would lay with the 
 
350 APPENDIX. 
 
 government, and the order was given by me for the ge- 
 neral benefit of the service and security of the property 
 I am, Honourable Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient and 
 
 Very humble Servant, 
 
 Wm. Parry. 
 N.B. I have followed the instructions strictly of the 
 late Lord N. Byron, and approved of by the Prince 
 Mavrocordato. 
 
 The Hon. Col. Stanhope. 
 
 (Copy.) No. 4. 
 
 Missolonghi, Western Greece, 
 
 May Uth, 1824, n.st. 
 Sir, 
 
 It is the fourth of mine which I now have the 
 pleasure to address to you. Since so long a period as 
 your separation, not a single line has reached us, nor 
 have we had any news whatsoever from that quarter. 
 The present I confide to the hands of our friend, the 
 harbour-master of this town, Captain Sidero, and who 
 is to deliver it into your own hands, and will receive 
 your answer. 
 
 I have not risked to confide much to the paper, nor 
 can I do so before, Sir, you'll please to honour me with 
 your answer. Count Gamba has, before quitting the 
 place, formed several Commissions, into whose hands 
 the principal affairs have been confided. Those named 
 by you, Sir, have been approved of in form ; all are 
 under the inspection of the Prince. The most exact cal- 
 culations have been made by me ; the sums for the several 
 departments have been delivered to the Deposito Com- 
 
APPENDIX. 351 
 
 mission, the three members of which are Messrs. Hodges, 
 Jarvis, and Stetzelberger. 
 
 The Department of the Brigade has been left to me. 
 
 The Department of the Fortifications has been left to 
 me, in company with the Engineer Cochini, and the Com- 
 missary of War. 
 
 The Department of the Laboratory to Mr. Hodges. 
 
 The Committee Affairs have been consigned to Messrs. 
 Hodges and Gill. 
 
 The Command of the Brigade left entirely to Captain 
 Stetzelberger. 
 
 The Orders to the Brigade are given to me by the 
 Prince, and I, as General- Adjutant, deliver them to the 
 Commanding Captain. 
 
 The boat goes: I shall write on the first occasion, 
 begging only my most respectful compliments to the 
 Count, fyc. Mr. Winter, I hope, forwarded the letters 
 to Cephalonia, to send on here Mr. Fenton's trunk. 
 Remaining, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 George Jarvis. 
 To Major Parry, $c. fyc. 
 
 {Copy.) No. 5. 
 
 Missolonghi, Western Greece -, 
 
 -frth May, 1824. 
 Sir, 
 
 I now have the pleasure of your letters of the 6th 
 and 8th instant. I have noted whatever you mentioned, 
 and all your orders to Messrs. Hodges and Gill, fyc, I 
 have delivered. I am exceedingly glad to see your health 
 
352 APPENDIX. 
 
 recover ; and we all hope to see you here soon again. 
 Money was, and is the great demand ; without it, it can- 
 not be expected of you, nor any man under the sun, to do 
 any thing of real use to this country. Colonel Stanhope 
 we know to be with you. Now I hope every thing will 
 thus be settled to our general advantage. The Prince 
 Mavrocordato is still at Anatolica ; coming from 
 Vrachore, where he had settled the rising and very 
 serious disputes with Captain Staico and others, he 
 called at Anatolica, to influence the Suliotes to break 
 up, and to march to the frontiers : these sons of 
 Minerva reminded him of a promise (which it is said 
 he gave,) to pay them their arrears on St. George's Day ; 
 they expect large sums will be sent over for them, and, 
 really, every single one here seems to think that the loan 
 has been contracted for him, and himself alone. I need 
 not mention to you, Sir, the best means of applying the 
 money, nor the securest way ; I hope government shall 
 gainsufflcient force to order, and we shall see, the money 
 issued accordingly to the wants of the naval and land 
 operations ; but not the greatest part delivered to indi- 
 viduals or chiefs that set up for themselves. The cha- 
 racter of the Greeks is but little known. The real 
 importance of most foreigners here is small, their 
 assuming however very great ; they all mistake the 
 Greeks, and are again despised by the latter : many 
 ought to be on their guard what they are about, and as 
 every one of us, more or less, have attached ourselves to 
 some party or particular chief of this country, we conse- 
 quently try to favour them and their plans, and thus may 
 act even innocently against the governmental views ! We 
 may well say that, what at present a chief gains, the 
 government loses. I, for my part, as you know, Sir, 
 
APPENDIX. o53 
 
 have, during my stay in Greece, spent above two years 
 with the Hydriotes, and own I have a great attachment 
 to them ; however, I shall never contribute toward any 
 thing that might any ways be against the plans and in- 
 terest of government. I have some suspicion that there 
 are considerable preparations made to the assistance of 
 chiefs, and 1 believe Ulysses ought to be mentioned 
 among them. 
 
 I hear of projects of establishing a navy ! When I see 
 continually new comers arrive, and all such great men ! 
 that don't deign to draw information from the old suf- 
 ferers here, much less to take their advice, they then 
 must try their own hand, and see what they can do. 
 We have had men here of all descriptions, generals, 
 of cavalry and infantry, companies of German and English 
 workmen and mechanics, bakers and butchers have been 
 sent out too, lawyers, diplomates, and officers of the horse, 
 and naval men made their appearance. We have seen 
 three years pass on, and now, as the staff of life has ar- 
 rived, we shall see what more will be done. With re- 
 gard to the naval affairs, I flatter myself, by having been 
 in all their expeditions, and having witnessed their con- 
 sultations, to have known their wants as well as their in- 
 clinations and power; if now it may be expected that any 
 navy can be this moment established, at the same time 
 the war carried on without very considerable funds, at 
 least more than the whole loan amounts to, I must be 
 very much mistaken. However, this experience too must 
 (as they think) be tried again. 
 
 The Greeks are men of great genius, and know then- 
 wants better than any stranger ; they want but three 
 th ngs, that is money, money, money ! and then govern- 
 ment, gaining poNver, will choose and employ such 
 
 2 A 
 
354 APPENDIX. 
 
 strangers as are of real use to the country ! As for 
 Anglifying Greece, it won't do. I have been honoured 
 by an Englishman yesterday with the title of a Greek; 
 they meant to hurt my feelings by thinking me too much 
 of a Greek. I have no other desire here than to pass for 
 one, and to take all their good qualities ; I am sure the 
 Greeks shall be grateful for all the good they are to 
 receive from England ; the tender feelings they showed 
 towards Lord Byron leave this disposition out of doubt. 
 However, as for turning English, or being gained over to 
 the English interest, this they will never agree to, and 
 they will either be free Greeks, or fall with the honour 
 of their country. 
 
 The fortifications are going on well ; we are all hard at 
 work. I intend to go with the Prince's order to get four 
 guns, two days' distance from here. The Brigade is in 
 good order, and keeps the Suliotes down, of whom the 
 two Captains, Lambro and Luca, made me much to do ; 
 every thing is going on in regular order, and with the 
 approbation of our Prince ; I hope you will give me 
 yours too. Mr. Trelawny questioned your right to send 
 on the newspapers, nor has he delivered them to me, 
 but intends to deliver them to his confidants and friends, 
 Messrs. Hodges and Gill. I wish you good health, 
 success, and a happy return, remaining, 
 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 
 George Jarvis. 
 To Major Parry, tyc. Officer of the Navy, 
 
 Zante. Adjutant-General, 8fC. 
 
APPENDIX. 355 
 
 {Copy.) No. (j. 
 Missolonghi, Western Greece, 10-22 May, 1824. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Both your favours of the 12th and 16th inst. have 
 reached me, and were sent to us by the Prince's Secretary 
 yesterday evening. I am less astonished at the conspi- 
 racy against you than at the harmony that seems to 
 reign among the party concerned in this plot, and at 
 their unanimous exertions ; exertions that might, with 
 this harmony, have been so beneficial to Greece, if led to 
 noble and useful purposes. When did we see those 
 Franks ever joined for our glorious cause ? What do fo- 
 reigners want in Greece ? What intentions have they? 
 But those who are wise, so very powerful at the same 
 time, these great men, what have they done? These 
 men that attack you now are the very same that looked 
 upon you, when here, as a man of no great importance ; 
 why then, now, do they make such a serious affair of it ? 
 They thus acknowledge you to be a man of importance. 
 You honour me, Sir, with the title of your friend, and 
 your only friend in Greece — Your friend I was, because I 
 regarded you a friend to Greece? Your friend / am, be- 
 cause you are in distress ! That what I say to you I 
 communicate to all the world, nor do I say more to you. 
 As for the conduct of those men who thought proper to 
 attack you, they ought to be on their guard — those here 
 that have joined in the plot have, at all events, committed 
 themselves, being your inferiors ; and with regard to the 
 conduct of them, in opposition to that of you and your 
 family, it appears to me most shocking, abominable, 
 and ungrateful. 
 
 2A 2 
 
356 APPENDIX. 
 
 As for myself, I am, at least, in so far happy here, as 
 I have nothing to do with these men, nor do I wish even 
 to come into any relationship with them. I keep to my 
 own room, and to my business here, which is very exten- 
 sive. As soon as the fortifications are finished, and I have 
 settled all my affairs, I may join my old friends the Hydri- 
 otes again, if there is any view of fighting going on. I 
 assure you, Sir, I never have been sorry to have made your 
 acquaintance here, I wish only it had not been imbittered 
 to me by the presence of others. I have only two friends 
 in Greece, but these are friends ; I do not associate with 
 any other Englishmen but when forced to do so ; these 
 are Mr. Hastings, R. N., a man of great honour, the 
 friend of truth, and of a very consistent character; the 
 other, Mr. Fenton, of Scotland, who, a gallant young 
 officer in the Spanish wars, gave up his half p> ay to em- 
 brace this noble cause, is the noblest-minded Englishman 
 I remember to have seen ; he is my bosom friend, and, 
 please God, our power, united by friendship and har- 
 mony, may be sufficient to produce some good for the 
 country, at least I hope we shall set a good example (a 
 matter of vast importance) to the rising Greeks ! I may 
 be able to do something even without exterior help, if 
 not America shall assist, and my friends in Europe are 
 powerful. You mention to me, Sir, you intend to call 
 on my name in the newspapers in the United States, and 
 in England — I have no objection to be a witness to your 
 conduct, character, and the services rendered to this 
 country; to the contrary, shall be so with all my heart, and 
 it is moreover my duty, but I beg you, at the same time, 
 not to make a personal affair of it with regard to me. 
 
 Mr. Tricupi left for the general government, as a 
 member for Missolonschi and Western Greece — he will 
 
APPENDIX. 357 
 
 give in a statement of the wants of this province, and it 
 is expected that then the necessary sums will be ordered 
 by government to be paid out of the loan. Your things 1 
 shall demand from Hodges and Gill in a few days ; pray 
 mention too if the patent shot belongs to you. The 
 shirts never arrived for Mr. Fouks — I shall then try to 
 settle with him, if they don't soon appear. The 39 dollars 
 I sent on by Mr. Trelawny, deducting seventeen piastres 
 twenty paras, paid for half a yard of blue cloth for you. 
 I send it under my own responsibility. The remarks 
 made use of in the other room &c, I take no notice of, 
 and answered Mr. Hodges, " I hope I am not responsi- 
 ble to you for my doing so ;" he tried to frighten me with 
 writing to Col. Stanhope about my doing so ; by G — d I 
 wish he would, if they would bring me to the test for it ! 
 It is, however, of trifling consequence to dispute with 
 bad men. 
 
 Missolonghi, 2nd June, 1824. 
 
 Just now Messrs. Hesketh and Winter arrived, and 
 I received your kind letter of the 27th ult. 
 
 I have had no secure opportunity to forward the above 
 lines, and now I have to state that part of the brigade, 
 with four guns, under the command of Captain Fenton, 
 left for Athens, &c. Trelawny left with him, and a gen- 
 tleman of the name of Gill. Trelawny has great plans, 
 and intends to manage the affairs of Greece by himself. 
 The best thing is, the Prince takes not the least notice 
 of what T. speaks. You will remember, Sir, the anecdote 
 of the pearl and the sow ! I have this moment a deal of 
 trouble, because my business is very extensive here, and 
 
358 APPENDIX. 
 
 since Mr. Fcnton left, I have no friends here among the 
 Franks, i. e., I do not wish for any friendship with those 
 here. Your certificate I shall send the first opportunity 
 on to you — the Prince will give you a very good attest. 
 As you seem to be not decided what to do, to come or not, 
 I cannot say but this, that money is the only means to 
 do it ; if you do not bring that, nothing can be done — 
 the want of money is felt here every day more and more. 
 Mr. Trelawny brought me no letter at all the last time 
 he came, — how is that? pray let me know. The boat 
 leaves now. I write in haste. 
 Remaining, dear Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 George Jervis. 
 To Major Parry. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 (Copy) No. 7. 
 
 Missolonghi, June 15, 1824. 
 
 1 now come to the last lines of your's. With re- 
 gard to the parties or factions formed by the Englishmen, 
 I am sorry to hear so, as I do not think it is for the ad- 
 vantage of this country; however, those who prefer their 
 own affairs to the general cause, or who wish to cool 
 their hatred in the blood of their supposed enemies, they 
 are sure of either negatively or positively doing injury to 
 the cause, without even doing any good to themselves. 
 What refers to myself, I do not intend to take notice of 
 what any such men say against me — my enemies (if I 
 have any in Greece) cannot be my judges. I leave the 
 nation to judge me. I beg leave to mention, that when- 
 ever you stand in need of me I am at your service as a 
 
APPENDIX. 359 
 
 private man, and shall do whatever I can for you ; but in 
 the official office I hold, I am not at. liberty to regard 
 private affairs, nor orders given me from persons not at 
 the spot, and not belonging to the Greek Government. 
 I mention this to acquaint you, Sir, that Mr. Blaquiere 
 has given orders to Hodges to inspect the fortification 
 books, and even to take into his hands the monies that, 
 under the name of laboratory department, have been 
 made over for the fortifications (say the 500 dollars.) I 
 naturally do not take the least notice of such orders, nor 
 will the Prince ever allow the most important works in 
 this province to stand still at the humour of Hodges. I 
 have mentioned to the Prince every thing you said ; and 
 shall I send your papers on to you ? This moment His 
 Excellency is much occupied. 
 
 I have the honour to enclose a few lines from Lord 
 Charles Murray, a friend of mine and of Greece; he ap- 
 pears to be a most excellent young man. 
 
 Believe me, dear Sir, ever your's, 
 
 George Jarvis, G. N. Adj. 
 
 Letters from Lord Charles Murray. 
 
 {Copy.) No. 8. 
 
 Missolonghi, June 6, 1824. 
 Sir, 
 
 According to promise, I laid before his Highness, 
 Prince Mavrocordato, your letter, and communicated 
 also the charges and complaints. His Highness appeared 
 duly sensible of the cruel situation into which you have 
 been thrown by the lamented death of the late illustrious 
 Lord Byron, and expresses a hope to see you soon again 
 
360 APPENDIX. 
 
 in company with Colonel Gordon, whose arrival at Mis- 
 solonghi is daily expected, and hourly prayed for. 
 
 Mr. Blaquiere set off in so great a hurry that I had not 
 time to write to you by him, but I send this by a secure 
 hand. Dr. Millingen is almost well again, I saw him this 
 morning. Mr. Jarvis I have not yet seen. 
 
 Believe me, your's truly, 
 
 Charles Murray. 
 To Captain Parry. 
 
 (Copy.) No. 9. 
 
 Missolonghi, June 13, 1824. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I am sorry to find, from Mr. Jarvis, that you are 
 still uncomfortably situated at Zante, and as you take no 
 notice of a letter I wrote you, I am left to suppose it is 
 in the dead letter box office of Zante still, or elsewhere. 
 
 Let me recommend you most sincerely and strenuously 
 to take no violent steps in your own justification; more 
 particularly until you return to England, where every 
 man's house is his castle ; whereas, on the Continent, 
 one can neither speak, act, nor write, without the utmost 
 circumspection of time, persons, and place. 
 
 Ever your's, very truly, 
 Charles Murray. 
 To Captain Parry. 
 
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