ill-fated Amelia should have died literally of a broken heart, after giving birth to two daughters, one of whom only survived her mother. In 1785, Mr. Byron took for a second wife, Miss Gordon, a Scotch lady of noble descent, being nearly allied to the Ducal House of that name, and herself heiress to an estate at Rayne, in the district of Garioch, near Aberdeen; which, however, fell a prey to the extravagances of her husband, who then cruelly abandoned his wife and child, and, to avoid his creditors, went to Valenciennes, where he died on the second of August, 1791. His widow lived long enough to see her son received into the House of Lords, as the legitimate claimant of the Barony of Byron; but though she had the pleasure also to witness the opening of his splendid talents, she was denied the satisfaction of embracing him in her last moments, dying in Scotland, while he was on his travels, in 1811. CHAPTER II. Early life of Lord Byron.-Character of Isabella, Countess of Carlisle.-His Lordship's studies at Harrow, and respect for his Tutor.—His opinion of the poetic Classics controverted.-Removal to Cambridge, and reflections upon that University. ON the death of William, the fifth Lord Byron, without male issue, the title and estates, at least those which remained attached to the barony, devolved upon George Gordon, the only son of the last-mentioned John Byron, then a child of ten years old, being born January 22, 1788. The old lord lived many years, after his unfortunate affair with Mr. Chaworth, a life of absolute seclusion in the country, hated by his tenantry, at war with his neighbours, and separated from all his family. He suffered the paternal mansion to fall into a state of ruin; and, as far as lay in his power, he alienated the lands which should have kept it in repair. Eccentricity, indeed, seems to have distinguished the whole blood; for his sister Isabella, late Countess of Carlisle, and mother of the present earl, was a woman of singular genius, and as singular habits. She wrote a charming copy of verses, addressed to Mrs. Greville, on her "Ode to Indifference," which, with other poetical effusions of her ladyship's pen, are in Pearch's collection. After shining for a long period in the circle of fashion as one of its most lively and fascinating luminaries, she suddenly retired, and in a manner shut herself up from the world; which made the late Mr. Fox, in one of his sportive productions, characterize her severely enough, as “Carlisle recluse in pride and rags.” Of the talents of her son the public has long possessed ample proofs, in a volume of poems, and the nervous tragedy of "The Father's Revenge ;" which last was submitted to the judgment of Dr. Johnson, a little before his death, and received his approbation. But to return to the immediate subject of these Memoirs. His infant years, from the age of two to ten, were spent at the birth-place of his mother, and under her personal care; which was of so lenient and indulgent a cast, that perhaps much of the irregularity which has marked his progress through life, may be ascribed to the want of early restraint, and seasonable discipline. A mal-formation of one of his feet, and other indications of a rickety constitution, served as a plea for suffering him to range the hills, and to wander about at his pleasure on the sea-shore, that his frame might be invigorated by air and exercise. But if much was gained in bodily strength, it was at the expense of mental cultivation; and this early custom of roaming at will, became a confirmed habit, and a disposition impatient of controul. When the right to the family honours was determined, and the young minor became a ward under the guardianship of his relation, the Earl of Carlisle, an order was made for his removal to an English seminary, that he might have an education suited to his rank. Harrow was pitched upon, and thither he was sent, towards the close of the year 1798. The re HARROW SCHOOL. 47 strictions of a well-regulated school were seriously felt by one who had never before experienced the least abridgement of his freedoom, and whose desires had always been gratified to such a degree that to him even the language of authority was hardly known. A mind so ill prepared for the trammels of education, could not easily be brought into a state of conformity with the established regulations of the institution; and though the usual exercises were correctly performed, it was with reluctance and an avowed hatred both to the task and the authority by which it was enforced. That he did not acquire a classical taste at this celebrated seat of the Muses, where Jones and Sheridan first tried their powers, is certain, for we have his own testimony to the fact. The fourth canto of "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" contains a bitter anathema against the use of the Latin poets in schools, followed by a long note upon the same subject. The lines, which possess neither strength nor harmony, are these: "May he who will, his recollections rake Too much to conquer, for the poet's sake, The drill'd dull lesson, forced down word by word, |