Life of Lord Byron, Vol. IV | Page 4

is most imposed
upon. I never yet saw the picture or the statue which came a league
within my conception or expectation; but I have seen many mountains,
and seas, and rivers, and views, and two or three women, who went as
far beyond it,--besides some horses; and a lion (at Veli Pacha's) in the
Morea; and a tiger at supper in Exeter Change.
"When you write, continue to address to me at Venice. Where do you
suppose the books you sent to me are? At Turin! This comes of '_the
Foreign Office_' which is foreign enough, God knows, for any good it
can be of to me, or any one else, and be d----d to it, to its last clerk and
first charlatan, Castlereagh.
"This makes my hundredth letter at least.
"Yours," &c.
* * * * *
TO MR. MURRAY.
"Venice, April 14. 1817.
"The present proofs (of the whole) begin only at the 17th page; but as I

had corrected and sent back the first Act, it does not signify.
"The third Act is certainly d----d bad, and, like the Archbishop of
Grenada's homily (which savoured of the palsy), has the dregs of my
fever, during which it was written. It must on no account be published
in its present state. I will try and reform it, or rewrite it altogether; but
the impulse is gone, and I have no chance of making any thing out of it.
I would not have it published as it is on any account. The speech of
Manfred to the Sun is the only part of this act I thought good myself;
the rest is certainly as bad as bad can be, and I wonder what the devil
possessed me.
"I am very glad indeed that you sent me Mr. Gifford's opinion without
deduction. Do you suppose me such a booby as not to be very much
obliged to him? or that in fact I was not, and am not, convinced and
convicted in my conscience of this same overt act of nonsense?
"I shall try at it again: in the mean time, lay it upon the shelf (the whole
Drama, I mean): but pray correct your copies of the first and second
Acts from the original MS.
"I am not coming to England; but going to Rome in a few days. I return
to Venice in _June_; so, pray, address all letters, &c. to me here, as
usual, that is, to Venice. Dr. Polidori this day left this city with Lord G
* * for England. He is charged with some books to your care (from me),
and two miniatures also to the same address, both for my sister.
"Recollect not to publish, upon pain of I know not what, until I have
tried again at the third Act. I am not sure that I shall try, and still less
that I shall succeed, if I do; but I am very sure, that (as it is) it is unfit
for publication or perusal; and unless I can make it out to my own
satisfaction, I won't have any part published.
"I write in haste, and after having lately written very often. Yours," &c.
* * * * *
LETTER 276. TO MR. MURRAY.

"Foligno, April 26. 1817.
"I wrote to you the other day from Florence, inclosing a MS. entitled
'The Lament of Tasso.' It was written in consequence of my having
been lately at Ferrara. In the last section of this MS. but one (that is, the
penultimate), I think that I have omitted a line in the copy sent to you
from Florence, viz. after the line--
"And woo compassion to a blighted name,
insert,
"Sealing the sentence which my foes proclaim.
The context will show you the sense, which is not clear in this
quotation. _Remember, I write this in the supposition that you have
received my Florentine packet._
"At Florence I remained but a day, having a hurry for Rome, to which I
am thus far advanced. However, I went to the two galleries, from which
one returns drunk with beauty. The Venus is more for admiration than
love; but there are sculpture and painting, which for the first time at all
gave me an idea of what people mean by their cant, and what Mr.
Braham calls 'entusimusy' (_i.e._ enthusiasm) about those two most
artificial of the arts. What struck me most were, the mistress of Raphael,
a portrait; the mistress of Titian, a portrait; a Venus of Titian in the
Medici gallery--the Venus; Canova's Venus also in the other gallery:
Titian's mistress is also in the other gallery (that is, in the Pitti Palace
gallery): the Parcæ of Michael Angelo, a picture: and the Antinous, the
Alexander, and one or two not very decent groups in