CXXXVII.

A storm it raged, and like the storm it pass'd,
Pass'd without words—in fact she could not speak;
And then her sex's shame (1) broke in at last,
A sentiment till then in her but weak,
But now it flow'd in natural and fast,

As water through an unexpected leak,
For she felt humbled-and humiliation
Is sometimes good for people in her station:
CXXXVIII.

It teaches them that they are flesh and blood,
It also gently hints to them that others,
Although of clay, are yet not quite of mud;

That urns and pipkins are but fragile brothers,
And works of the same pottery, bad or good,

Though not all born of the same sires and mothers:
It teaches-Heaven knows only what it teaches,
But sometimes it may mend, and often reaches. (2)
CXXXIX.

Her first thought was to cut off Juan's head;
Her second, to cut only his-acquaintance;
Her third, to ask him where he had been bred;
Her fourth, to rally him into repentance;
Her fifth, to call her maids and go to bed;

Her sixth, to stab herself; her seventh, to sentence
The lash to Baba:-but her grand resource
Was to sit down again, and cry of course.

And next his savage virtue he accused,
Just as a friar may accuse his vow,
Or as a dame repents her of her oath,
Which mostly ends in some small breach of both.
CXLIII.

So he began to stammer some excuses;

But words are not encugh in such a matter, Although you borrow'd all that e'er the Muses Have sung, or even a dandy's dandiest chatter, Or all the figures Castlereagh abuses; (4)

Just as a languid smile began to flatter
His peace was making, but before he ventured
Further, old Baba rather briskly enter'd:

CXLIV.

"Bride of the Sun! and Sister of the Moon!"

('T was thus he spake,) "and Empress of the Earth! Whose frown would put the spheres all out of tune, Whose smile makes all the planets dance with mirth, Your slave brings tidings-he hopes not too soon-Which your sublime attention may be worth: (5) The Sun (6) himself has sent me, like a ray, To hint that he is coming up this way."

CXLV.

"Is it," exclaim'd Gulbeyaz, "as you say?

I wish to Heaven he would not shine till morning! But bid my women form the milky way. (ing-(7) Hence, my old comet! give the stars due warnAnd, Christian! mingle with them as you may,

And as you'd have me pardon your past scornHere they were interrupted by a humming [ingSound, and then by a cry, "The Sultan's coming!" CXLVI.

First came her damsels, a decorous file,

And then his Highness' eunuchs, black and white:
The train might reach a quarter of a mile:
His majesty was always so polite
As to announce his visits a long while

Before he came, especially at night;
For being the last wife of the Emperor,
She was of course the favourite of the four.

CXLVII.

His Highness was a man of solemn port,
Shawl'd to the nose, and bearded to the eyes,
Snatch'd from a prison to preside at court,
His lately bowstrung brother caused his rise;
He was as good a sovereign of the sort
As any mention'd in the histories
Of Cantemir, or Knollès, where few shine
Save Solyman, the glory of their line. (8)

Lord of three Continents and Two Seas,' and very frequently
'Hunkier, the Slayer of Men.'" Dallaway.-L. E.
(7) In the MS.-

"But prithee-get my women in the way,

That all the stars may gleam with due adorning."-L. E. (8) It may not be unworthy of remark, that Bacon, in his essay on Empire, hints that Solyman was the last of his line; on what authority, I know not. These are his words: "The destruction of Mustapha was so fatal to Solyman's line, as the succession of the Turks from Soliman, until this day, is suspected to be untrue, and of strange blood; for that Selymus the second was thought to be supposititious." But Bacon, in his historical authorities, is often inaccurate. I could give half a dozen instances from his Apophthegms only. [See Appendix to this Canto, p. 677, post.-P. E.

CXLVIII.

He went to mosque in state, and said his prayers With more than "Oriental scrupulosity;" (1) He left to his vizier all state affairs,

And show'd but little royal curiosity:

I know not if he had domestic cares

No process proved connubial animosity;
Four wives and twice five hundred maids, unseen,
Were ruled as calmly as a Christian queen. (2)
CXLIX.

If now and then there happen'd a slight slip,
Little was heard of criminal or crime;
The story scarcely pass'd a single lip-

The sack and sea had settled all in time,
From which the secret nobody could rip:

The public knew no more than does this rhyme; No scandals made the daily press a curseMorals were better, and the fish no worse. (3)

CL.

He saw with his own eyes the moon was round,
Was also certain that the earth was square,
Because he had journey'd fifty miles, and found
No sign that it was circular any where;
His empire also was without a bound:

'Tis true, a little troubled here and there, By rebel pachas, and encroaching giaours,

But then they never came to "the Seven Towers;"(4) CLI.

Except in shape of envoys, who were sent

To lodge there when a war broke out, according To the true law of nations, which ne'er meant

(1) Gibbon.-L. E. (2) In the MS.-

[odd,

"Because he kept them wrapt up in his closet, he Ruled four wives and twelve hundred whores, unseen, More easily than Christian kings one queen.' 1."-L. E. (3) In the MS.—

"There ended many a fair sultana's trip:

The public knes no more than does this rhyme; No printed scandals flew-the fish, of course, Were better-while the morals were no worse." ."-L. E. (4) "The state prison of Constantinople, in which the Porte shuts up the ministers of hostile powers who are di latory in taking their departure, under pretence of protecting them from the insults of the mob."-Hope.

"We attempted to visit the Seven Towers, but were stopped at the entrance, and informed that without a firman it was inaccessible to strangers. It was supposed that Count Bulukoff, the Russian minister, would be the last of the Moussafirs, or imperial hostages, confined in this fortress; but since the year

Meantime the education they went through

Was princely, as the proofs have always shown: So that the heir-apparent still was found

No less deserving to be hang'd than crown'd.
CLIV.

His Majesty saluted his fourth spouse

With all the ceremonies of his rank,

Who clear'd her sparkling eyes and smooth'd her brows,
As suits a matron who has play'd a prank;
These must seem doubly mindful of their vows,

To save the credit of their breaking bank:
To no men are such cordial greetings given
As those whose wives have made them fit for heaven.
CLV.

His Highness cast around his great black eyes,
And looking, as he always look'd, perceived
Juan amongst the damsels in disguise,

At which he seem'd no whit surprised nor grieved, But just remark'd with air sedate and wise,

While still a fluttering sigh Gulbeyaz heaved,
"I see you've bought another girl; 'tis pity
That a mere Christian should be half so pretty."
CLVI.

This compliment, which drew all eyes upon

The new-bought virgin, made her blush and shake. Her comrades, also, thought themselves undone : Oh! Mahomet! that his Majesty should take Such notice of a giaour, while scarce to one Of them his lips imperial ever spake! There was a general whisper, toss, and wriggle, But etiquette forbade them all to giggle.

CLVII.

The Turks do well to shut-at least, sometimes-
The women up-because, in sad reality,
Their chastity in these unhappy climes

Is not a thing of that astringent quality
Which in the North prevents precocious crimes,
And makes our snow less pure than our morality,
The sun, which yearly melts the polar ice,
Has quite the contrary effect on vice.

CLVIII.

Thus in the East they are extremely strict,
And wedlock and a padlock mean the same;
Excepting only when the former's pick'd

It ne'er can be replaced in proper frame;
Spoilt, as a pipe of claret is when prick'd:

But then their own polygamy's to blame; Why don't they knead two virtuous souls for life Into that moral centaur, man and wife? (6)

1784, M. Ruffin and many of the French have been imprisoned in the same place; and the dungeons were gaping, it seems, for the sacred persons of the gentlemen composing his Britannic Majesty's mission, previous to the rupture between Great Britain and the Porte, in 1809." Hobhouse.-L. E.

(5) "The princess" (Sulta Asma, daughter of Achmet III., "exclaimed against the barbarity of he institution which, at six years old, had put her in the power of a decrepid old man, who, by treating her like a child, had only inspired disgust." De Tott.-L. E.

(6) This stanza-which Lord Byron composed in bed, Feb. 27, 1821, is not in the first edition. On discovering the omission, he thus remonstrated with Mr. Murray:-"Upon what principle have you omitted one of the concluding stanzas sent as an addition?-because it ended, I suppose, with

And do not link two virtuous souls for life
Into that moral centaur, man and wife?'

Now, I must say, once for all, that I will not permit any

human being to take such liberties with my writings because I am absent. I desire the omission to be replaced. I have read over the poem carefully, and I tell you, it is poetry. The little envious knot of parson-poets may say what they please: time will show that I am not, in this instance, mistaken."-L. E.

(1) Blackwood says, in No. LXV., for June, 1822, "These three Cantos (III. IV. V.) are, like all Byron's poems, and, by the way, like every thing in this world, partly good and partly bad. In the particular descriptions they are not so naughty as their predecessors: indeed, his lordship has been so pretty and well-behaved on the present occasion, that we should not be surprised to hear of the work being detected among the thread-cases, flower-pots, and cheap tracts that litter the drawing-room tables of some of the best regulated families. By those, however, who suspect him of a strange design

Against the creed and morals of the land,
And trace it in this poem every line,'

it will be found as bad as ever. He shows his knowledge of the world too openly; and it is no extenuation of this freedom that he does it playfully. Only infants can be shown naked in company; but his lordship palls the very robe-de-chambre from both men and women, and goes on with his exposure as smirkingly as a barrister cross-questioning a chamber maid in a case of crim. con. This, as nobody can approve, we must confess is very bad. Still, it is harsh

to ascribe to wicked motives what may be owing to the temptations of circumstances, or the headlong impulse of passion. Even the worst habits should be charitably considered, for they are often the result of the slow but irresistible force of nature, over the artificial manners and discipline of society-the flowing stream that wastes away its embankments. Man towards his fellow-man should be at least compassionate; for he can be no judge of the instincts and the impulses of action,-he can only see effects. Tremble, thou wretch,

That hast within thee undivulged crimes,
Unwhipp'd of justice: Hide thee, thou bloody hand;-
Thou perjured, and thou simular man of virtue,
Thou art incestuous Caitiff, to pieces shake,
That under covert and convenient seeming
Hast practised on man's life!-Close pent-up guilts,
Rive your concealing continents, and cry

These dreadful summoners grace.'" Lear.-L. E.

(2) "Ordered Fletcher (at four o'clock this afternoon) to copy out seven or eight apophthegms of Bacon, in which I have detected such blunders as a schoolboy might detect, rather than commit. Such are the sages! What must they be, when such as I can stumble on their mistakes or misstatements? I will go to bed, for I find that I grow cynical." B. Diary, Jan. 5, 1821.-L. E.

(3) "If parts allure thee, think how Bacon shined, The wisest, brightest, meanest of mankind." Pope.-L. E.

(note to page 358, vol. vii.), that he knows not to whom Cowper alludes in these lines:

"Nor he who, for the bane of thousands born,

Built God a church, and laugh'd his word to scorn." The Calvinist meant Voltaire, and the church of Ferney, with its inscription "Deo erexit Voltaire." Thirdly, in the life of Burns, Mr. Campbell quotes Shakspeare thus:

"To gild refined gold, to paint the rose, Or add fresh perfume to the violet." This version by no means improves the original, which is as follows:

"To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,

To throw a perfume on the violet," etc.-King-John. A great poet quoting another should be correct: he should also be accurate, when he accuses a Parnassian brother of that dangerous charge "borrowing:" a poet had better borrow any thing (excepting money) than the thoughts of another-they are always sure to be reclaimed; but it is very hard, having been the lender, to be denounced as the debtor, as is the case of Anstey versus Smollett.

As there is "honour amongst thieves," let there be some amongst poets, and give each his due. None can afford to give it more than Mr. Campbell himself, who, with a high reputation for originality, and a fame which cannot be shaken, is the only poet of the times (except Rogers) who can be reproached (and in him it is indeed a reproach) with having written too little.

Ravenna, Jan. 5, 1821.

(1) Cantos VI. VII. and VIII., were written at Pisa, in 1822, and published by Mr. John Hunt, in July 1823. The poet's resumption of Don Juan is explained in the following extract from his correspondence:

Pisa, July 8, 1822.—“It is not impossible that I may have three or four cantos of Don Juan ready by autumn, or a little later, as I obtained a permission from my dictatress to continue it, provided always it was to be more guarded and decorous and sentimental in the continuation than in the commencement. How far these conditions have been fulfilled may be seen, perhaps, by and by; but the embargo was only taken off upon these stipulations."—L. E.

(2) Essai sur l'histoire ancienne et moderne de la Nouvelle Russie, par le Marquis Gabriel de Castelnau. 3 vol. Paris, 1820.

(3) "Au commencement de 1803, le Duc de Richelieu fut nommé gouverneur d'Odessa. Quand le Duc vint en prendre l'administration, aucune rue n'y était formée, aucun établis sement n'y était achevé. On y comptait à peine cinq mille habitants: onze ans plus tard, lorsqu'il s'en éloigna, on y en comptait trente-cinq mille. Les rues étaient tirées au cordeau, plantées d'un double rang d'arbres; et l'on y voyait tous les établissements qu'exigent le culte, l'instruction, la commodité, et même les plaisirs des habitants. Un seul édi fice public avait été négligé; le gouverneur, dans cet oubli de lui-même, et cette simplicité de mœurs qui distinguait son caractère, n'avait rien voulu changer à la modeste habitation qu'il avait trouvée en arrivart. Le commerce, débarrassé d'entraves, avait pris l'essor le plus rapide à Odessa, tandis que la sécurité et la liberté de conscience y avaient promptement attiré la population." Biog. Univ.-—L. E.

(4) "Odessa is a very interesting place; and being the seat of government, and the only quarantine allowed except Caffa and Taganrog, is, though of very recent erection, already wealthy and flourishing. Too much praise cannot be given to the Duke of Richelieu, to whose administration, not to any natural advantages, this town owes its prosperity." Heber.-L. E.

(5) Robert, second Marquis of Londonderry, died, by his own hand, at his seat at North Cray, in Kent, in August, 1822. During the session of parliament which had just closed, his lordship appears to have sunk under the weight of his labours, and insanity was the consequence. The fol

PREFACE TO CANTOS VI. VII. VIII. (1)

THE details of the siege of Ismail in two of the following cantos (i. e. the seventh and eighth) are taken from a French Work, entitled Histoire de la Nouvelle Russie. (2) Some of the incidents attributed to Don Juan really occurred, particularly the circumstance of his saving the infant, which was the actual case of the late Duc de Richelieu, (3) then a young volunteer in the Russian service, and afterward the founder and benefactor of Odessa, (4) where his name and memory can never cease to be regarded with

reverence.

In the course of these cantos, a stanza or two will be found relative to the late Marquis of Londonderry, but written some time before his decease. Had that person's oligarchy died with him, they would have been suppressed; as it is, I am aware of nothing in the manner of his death (5) or of his life to prevent the free expression of the opinions of all whom his whole existence was consumed in endeavouring to enslave. That he was an amiable man in private life, may or may not be true: but with this the public have nothing to do; and as to lamenting his death, it will be time enough when Ireland has ceased to mourn for his birth. As a minister, I, for one of millions, looked upon him as the most despotic in intention, and the weakest in intellect, that ever tyrannised over a country. It is the first time indeed, since the Normans, that England has been insulted by a minister (at least) who could not speak English, and that parliament permitted itself to be dictated to in the language of Mrs. Malaprop. (6)

lowing tributes to his eminent qualities we take from the leading Tory and Whig newspapers of the day :

"Of high honour, fearless, undaunted, and firm in his resolves, he combined, in a remarkable manner, with the fortiter in re the suaviter in modo. To his political adversaries (and he had no other) he was at once open, frank, unassuming, and consequently conciliatory. He was happy in his union with a most amiable consort; he was the pride of a venerated father; and towards a beloved brother it might truly be said he was notus animo fraterno.

"With regard to his public character, all admit his talents to have been of a high order, and his industry in the discharge of his official duties to have been unremitting. Party animosity may question the wisdom of measures in which he was a principal actor, to save its own consistency, but it does not dare to breathe a doubt of his inte. grity and honour. His reputation as a minister is, however, above the reach of both friends and enemies. He was one of the leaders of that ministry which preserved the country from being subjugated by a power which subjugated all the rest of Europe-which fought the country against combined Europe, and triumphed-and which wrenched the sceptre of dominion from the desolating principles that the French revolution spread through the world, and restored it to religion and honesty. If to have preserved the faith and liberties of England from destruction-to have raised her to the most magnificent point of greatness-to have liberated a quarter of the globe from a despotism which bowed down both body and soul-and to have placed the world again under the control of national law and just principles, be transcendent fame-such fame belongs to this ministry; and, of all its metabers, to none more than to the Marquis of Londonderry. During great part of the year, he toiled frequently for twelve or fourteen hours per day at the most exhausting of all kinds of labour, for a salary which, unaided by private fortune, would not have supported him. He laboured for thirty years in the service of the country. In this service he ruined a robust constitution, broke a lofty spirit, destroyed a first-rate understand. ing, and met an untimely death, without adding a shilling to his patrimonial fortune. What the country gained from him may never be calculated-what he gained from the country was lunacy, and a martyr's grave."-New Times.

"Lord Londonderry was a man of unassuming manners, of simple tastes, and (so far as regarded private life) of kind and generous disposition. Towards the poor he was beneficent: in his family. mild, considerate, and forbearing. He was firm to the connections and associates of his earlier days, not only those of choice, but of accident, when not unworthy; and to promote them, and to advance their interests, his efforts were sincere and indefatigable. In power be forgot no service rendered to him while he was in a private station, nor broke any promise, expressed or implied, nor abandoned any friend who claimed and merited his assistance." Times.-L. E.

(6) See Sheridan's comedy of The Rivals.-L. E.