Byron’s humiliations were by no means at an end with his crossing of the Channel

(c) National Trust, Hughenden Manor; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation

Byron’s humiliations were by no means at an end with his crossing of the Channel later in the month. “I withdrew,” he wrote, “but this was not enough – In other countries – in Switzerland – in the shadow of the Alps – and by the blue depths of the Lakes I was pursued and breathed upon by the same blight. – I crossed the Mountains – but it was the same – so I went – a little farther, and settled myself by the waves of the Adriatic – like the Stag at bay who betakes him to the waters.”

†

Fiona MacCarthy

Guardian, Saturday 9 November 2002

Advertisements