Though with so little hope of being able to serve, signally, the cause, the task of at least lightening, by his interposition, some of the manifold mischief that pressed upon it was yet, he thought, within his reach. To convince the Government and the Chiefs of the paralysing effect of their dissensions;-to inculcate that spirit of union among themselves which alone could give strength against their enemies;—to endeavour to humanize the feelings of the belligerents on both sides, so as take from the war that character of barbarism which deterred the more civilized friends of freedom through Europe from joining in it;-such were, in addition to the now essential aid of his money, the great objects which he proposed to effect by his interference; and to these he accordingly, with all the candour, clear-sightedness, and courage which so pre-eminently distinguished his great mind, applied himself.

any,

intrigues, to congratulate himself but the more on his prudence in not plunging into the maze without being first furnished with those guards against de| ception which the information he was now acquir ing supplied him.

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Aware that, to judge deliberately of the state of parties, he must keep out of their vortex, and warned, by the very impatience and rivalry with which the different Chiefs courted his presence, of the risk he should run by connecting himself with he resolved to remain, for some time longer, in his station at Cephalonia, and there avail himself of the facilities afforded by the position for collecting information as to the real state of affairs, and ascertaining in what quarter his own presence and money would be most available. During the six weeks that had elapsed since his arrival at Cephalonia, he had been living in the most comfortless manner, pent up with pigs and poultry, on board the vessel which brought him. Having now come, however, to the determination of prolonging his stay, | he decided also upon fixing his abode on shore; and, for the sake of privacy, retired to a small village, called Metaxata, about seven miles from Argostoli, where he continued to reside during the remainder of his stay on the island.

Before this change of residence, he had despatched Mr. Hamilton Browne and Mr. Trelawney with a letter to the existing Government of Greece, explanatory of his own views and those of the Committee whom he represented; and it was not till a month after his removal to Metaxata that intelligence from these gentlemen reached him. The picture they gave : of the state of the country was, in most respects, confirmatory of what has already been described as his own view of it ;—incapacity and selfishness at the head of affairs, disorganization throughout the whole body politic, but still, with all this, the heart of the nation sound, and bent on resistance. Nor could he have failed to be struck with the close family resemblance to the ancient race of the country which this picture exhibited ;-that great people, in the very midst of their own endless dissensions, having been ever ready to face round in concert against the foe.

His lordship's agents had been received with all due welcome by the Government, who were most desirous that he should set out for the Morea without delay; and pressing letters to the same purport, both from the Legislative and Executive bodies, accompanied those which reached him from Messrs. Browne and Trelawney. He was, however, determined not to move till his own selected time, having seen reason, the farther insight he obtained into their

sea,

To give an idea, as briefly as possible, of the sort of conflicting calls that were, from various scenes of action, reaching him in his retirement, it may be sufficient to mention that, while by Metaxa, the present governor of Missolonghi, he was entreated earnestly to hasten to the relief of that place, which the Turks were now blockading both by land and by the head of the military chiefs, Colocotroni, was no less earnestly urging that he should present himself. at the approaching congress of Salamis, where, under the dictation of these rude warriors, the affairs of the country were to be settled, while, at the same time, from another quarter, the great opponent of these Chieftains, Mavrocordato, was, with more urgency, as well as more ability than any, endeavouring to impress upon him his own views, and imploring his presence at Hydra, whither he himself had just been forced to retire.

The mere knowledge, indeed, that a noble Englishman had arrived in those regions, so unprepossessed by any party as to inspire a hope of his alliance in all, and with money, by common rumour, as abundant as the imaginations of the needy chose to make it, was, in itself, fully sufficient, without any of the more elevated claims of his name, to attract towards | him all thoughts. It is easier to conceive," says Count Gamba, "than to relate the various means employed to engage him in one faction or the other: letters, messengers, intrigues, and recriminations, nay, each faction had its agents exerting every art to degrade its opponent." He then adds a circumstance strongly illustrative of a peculiar feature in the noble poet's character:-"He occupied himself in discovering the truth, hidden as it was under these intrigues, and amused himself in confronting the agents of the different factions."

During all these occupations he went on pursuing his usual simple and uniform course of life,-rising, however, for the despatch of business, at an early hour, which showed how capable he was of conquering even long habit when necessary. Though so much occupied, too, he was, at all hours, accessible to visitors; and the facility with which he allowed even the dullest people to break in upon him was exemplified, I am told, strongly in the case of one of the officers of the garrison, who, without being able to understand any thing of the poet but his good-nature, used to say, whenever he found his time hang heavily on his hands,—“I think I shall ride out, and have a little talk with Lord Byron."

The person, however, whose visits appeared to give him most pleasure, as well from the interest he took in the subject on which they chiefly conversed, aš from the opportunities, sometimes, of pleasantry which the peculiarities of his visitor afforded him, was a medical gentleman, named Kennedy, who, from a strong sense of the value of religion to himself, had taken up the benevolent task of communicating his own light to others. The first origin of their intercourse was an undertaking, on the part of this gentleman, to convert to a firm belief in Christianity some

rather sceptical friends of his, then at Argostoli.
Happening to hear of the meeting appointed for this
purpose, Lord Byron begged that he might be allowed
to attend, saying to the person through whom he
conveyed his request, "You know I am reckoned a
black sheep,-yet, after all, not so black as the world |
believes me." He had promised to convince Doctor
Kennedy that, though wanting, perhaps, in faith, |
he at least had patience;" but the process of so
many hours of lecture,-no less than twelve, without
interruption, being stipulated for,-was a trial beyond
his strength; and, very early in the operation, as the
Doctor informs us, he began to show evident signs of
a wish to exchange the part of hearer for that of
speaker. Notwithstanding this, however, there was
in all his deportment, both as listener and talker, such
a degree of courtesy, candour, and sincere readiness
to be taught, as excited interest, if not hope, for his
future welfare in the good Doctor; and though he
never after attended the more numerous meetings,
his conferences, on the same subject, with Dr Kennedy
alone, were not infrequent during the remainder of
his stay at Cephalonia.

These curious Conversations have just been published, and to the value which they possess as a simple and popular exposition of the chief evidences of Christianity, added the charm that must ever dwell round the character of one of the interlocutors, and the almost fearful interest attached to every word that, on such a subject, he utters. In the course of the first conversation, it will be seen that Lord Byron expressly disclaimed being one of those infidels "who deny the Scriptures and wish to remain in unbelief." On the contrary, he professed himself “ desirous to believe; as he experienced no happiness in having his religious opinions so unfixed." He was unable, however, he added, "to understand the Scriptures. Those who conscientiously believed them he could always respect, and was always disposed to trust in them more than in others; but he had met with so many whose conduct differed from the principles which they professed, and who seemed to profess those principles either because they were paid to do so, or from some other motive which an intimate acquaintance with their character would enable one to detect, that altogether he had seen few, if any, whom he could rely upon as truly and conscientiously believing the Scriptures."

We We may take for granted that these conversations, -more especially the first, from the number of persons present who would report the proceedings,-excited considerable interest among the society of Argostoli. It was said that Lord Byron had displayed such a profound knowledge of the Scriptures as astonished, and even puzzled, the polemic Doctor; while in all the eminent writers on theological subjects he had shown himself far better versed than his more pretending opponent. All this Doctor Kennedy strongly denies; and the truth seems to be, that on neither side were there much stores of theological learning. The confession of the lecturer himself, that he had not read the works of Stillingfleet or Barrow, shows that, in his researches after orthodoxy, he had not allowed himself any very extensive range; while the alleged familiarity of Lord Byron with the same authorities must be taken with a similar abatement of

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credence and wonder to that which his own account of his youthful studies requires ;-a rapid eye and retentive memory having enabled him, on this as on most other subjects, to catch, as it were, the salient points on the surface of knowledge, and the recollections he thus gathered being, perhaps, the livelier from his not having encumbered himself with more. To any regular train of reasoning, even on this his most favourite topic, it was not possible to lead him. He would start objections to the arguments of others, and detect their fallacies; but of any consecutive ratiocination on his own side he seemed, if not incapable, impatient. In this, indeed, as in many other peculiarities belonging to him, his caprices, fits of weeping, sudden affections and dislikes, may be observed striking traces of a feminine cast of character;-it being observable that the discursive faculty is rarely exercised by women; but that, nevertheless, by the mere instinct of truth (as was the case with Lord Byron), they are often enabled at once to light upon the very conclusion to which man, through all the forms of reasoning, is, in the mean time, puzzling and, perhaps, losing his way :

"And strikes each point with native force of mind, While puzzled logic blunders far behind."

Of the Scriptures, it is certain that Lord Byron was a frequent and almost daily reader,-the small pocket-bible which, on his leaving England, had been given him by his sister, being always near him. How much, in addition to his natural solicitude on the subject of religion, the taste of the poet influenced him in this line of study, may be seen in his frequently expressed admiration of “ the ghost-scene,” as he called it, in Samuel, and his comparison of this supernatural appearance with the Mephistopheles of Goëthe. In the same manner, his imagination appears to have been much struck by the notion of his lecturer, that the circumstance mentioned in Job of the Almighty summoning Satan into his presence was to be interpreted, not, as he thought, allegorically and poetically, but literally. More than once we find him expressing to Doctor Kennedy "how much this belief of the real appearance of Satan to hear and obey the commands of God added to his views of the grandeur and majesty of the Creator."

On the whole, the interest of these Conversations, as far as regards Lord Byron, arises not so much from any new or certain lights they supply us with on the subject of his religious opinions, as from the evidence they afford of his amiable facility of intercourse, the total absence of bigotry or prejudice from even his most favourite notions, and-what may be accounted, perhaps, the next step in conversion to belief itself his disposition to believe. As far, indeed, as a frank submission to the charge of being wrong may be supposed to imply an advance on the road to being right, few persons, it must be acknowledged, under a process of proselytism ever showed more of this desired symptom of change than Lord Byron. "I own," says a witness to one of these conversations, "I felt astonished to hear Lord Byron submit to lectures on his life, his vanity, and the use lessness of his talents, which made me stare."

* Mr Finlay.

« October 29th.

As most persons will be tempted to refer to the work itself, there are but one or two other opinions of his lordship recorded in it which I shall think ne- "You may be sure that the moment I can join cessary to notice here. A frequent question of his to you again will be as welcome to me as any period of Doctor Kennedy was-"What, then, you think me in our recollection. There is nothing very attractive a very bad way?"-the usual answer to which being here to divide my attention; but I must attend to the in the affirmative, he, on one occasion, replied, “I | Greek cause, both from honour and inclination. | am now, however, in a fairer way. I already believe | Messrs B. and T. are both in the Morea, where they in predestination, which I know you believe, and in have been very well received, and both of them write the depravity of the human heart in general, and of in good spirits and hopes. I am anxious to hear my own in particular : thus, you see, there are two | how the Spanish cause will be arranged, as I think points in which we agree. I shall get at the others it may have an influence on the Greek contest. I by and by; but you cannot expect me to become a wish that both were fairly and favourably settled, perfect Christian at once.' ." On the subject of Dr that I might return to Italy, and talk over with you Southwood's amiable and, it is to be hoped for the our, or rather Pietro's adventures, some of which sake of Christianity and the human race, orthodox are rather amusing, as also some of the incidents of work on "the Divine Government," he thus spoke: our voyages and travels. But I reserve them, in the "I cannot decide the point; but to my present ap- hope that we may laugh over them together at no prehension it would be a most desirable thing could very distant period." be proved, that ultimately all created beings were to be happy. This would appear to be most consistent with God, whose power is omnipotent, and whose chief attribute is Love. I cannot yield to your doctrine of the eternal duration of punishment. This author's opinion is more humane, and I think he supports it very strongly from Scripture."

I shall now insert, with such explanatory remarks as they may seem to require, some of the letters, official as well as private, which his lordship wrote while at Cephalonia; and from which the reader may collect, in a manner far more interesting than through the medium of any narrative, a knowledge both of the events now passing in Greece, and of the views and feelings with which they were regarded by Lord Byron.

To Madame Guiccioli he wrote frequently, but briefly, and, for the first time, in English; adding always a few lines in her brother Pietro's letters to her. The following are extracts.

"We are still in Cephalonia, waiting for news of a more accurate description; for all is contradiction and division in the reports of the state of the Greeks. I shall fulfil the object of my mission from the Committee, and then return into Italy. For it does not seem likely that, as an individual, I can be of use to them; at least no other foreigner has yet appeared to be so, nor does it seem likely that any will at present.

"Pray be as cheerful and tranquil as you can; and be assured that there is nothing here that can excite any thing but a wish to be with you again,— though we are very kindly treated by the English here of all descriptions. Of the Greeks, I can't say much good hitherto, and I do not like to speak ill of them, though they do of one another."

LETTER DXXV.

TO MR BOWRING.

❝9bre 29th, 1823.

"This letter will be presented to you by Mr Hamilton Browne, who precedes or accompanies the Greek deputies. He is both capable and desirous of rendering any service to the cause, and information to the Committee. He has already been of considerable advantage to both, of my own knowledge. Lord Archibald Hamilton, to whom he is related, will add a weightier recommendation than mine.

"Corinth is taken, and a Turkish squadron said to be beaten in the Archipelago. The public progress of the Greeks is considerable, but their internal dissensions still continue. On arriving at the seat of Government, I shall endeavour to mitigate or extinguish them-though neither is an easy task. I have remained here till now, partly in expectation of the squadron in relief of Missolonghi, partly of Mr Parry's detachment, and partly to receive from Malta or Zante the sum of four thousand pounds sterling, which I have advanced for the payment of the expected squadron. The bills are negotiating, and will be cashed in a short time, as they would have been immediately in any other mart; but the miserable Ionian merchants have little money, and no great credit, and are, besides, politically shy on this occasion; for, although I had letters of Messrs Webb (one of the strongest houses of the Mediterranean), and also of Messrs Ransom, there is no business to be done on fair terms except through English merchants. These, however, have proved both able and willing,-and upright, as usual.*

"Colonel Stanhope has arrived, and will proceed immediately; he shall have my co-operation in all his endeavours; but from every thing that I can learn, the formation of a brigade at present will be extremely difficult, to say the least of it. With regard to the reception of foreigners,-at least of foreign-of

*The English merchants whom he thus so justly describes are Messrs. Barff and Hancock, of Zante, whose conduct, not only in the instance of Lord Byron, but throughout the whole Greek struggle, has been uniformly most zealous and disinterested.