meetings were stolen ones, and my letters passed through the medium of a confidante. A gate leading from Mr. C's grounds to those of my mother, was the place of our interviews. But the ardour was all on my side. I was serious; she was volatile. She liked me as a younger brother, and treated and laughed at me as a boy. She, however, gave me her picture, and that was something to make verses upon.*

"During the last year that I was at Harrow, all my thoughts were occupied on this love-affair. I had, besides, a spirit that ill brooked the restraints of school-discipline; for I had been encouraged by servants in all my violence of temper, and was used to command. Every thing like a task was repugnant to my nature; and I came away a very indifferent classic, and read in nothing that was useful. That subordination, which is the soul of all discipline, I submitted to with great difficulty; yet I did submit to it: and I have always retained a sense of Drury's† kindness, which enabled me to bear it and fagging too. The Duke of Dorset was my fag. I was not a very hard task-master. There were times in which, if I had not considered it as a school, I should have been happy at Harrow. There is one spot I should like

* He had always a black riband round his neck, to which was attached a locket containing hair and a picture. We had been playing at billiards one night till the balls appeared double, when all at once he searched hastily for something under his waistcoat, and said, in great alarm, "Good God! I have lost my -!" but before he had finished the sentence, he discovered the hidden treasure.

See Lines addressed to him in 'The Hours of Idleness.'

to see again: I was particularly delighted with the view from the Church-yard, and used to sit for hours on the stile leading into the fields;--even then I formed a wish to be buried there. Of all my schoolfellows, I know no one for whom I have retained so much friendship as for Lord Clare. I have been constantly corresponding with him ever since I knew he was in Italy; and look forward to seeing him, and talking over with him our old Harrow stories, with infinite delight. There is no pleasure in life equal to that of meeting an old friend. You know how glad I was to see Hay. Why did not Scroope Davies come to see me? Some one told me that he was at Florence, but it is impossible.

"There are two things that strike me at this moment, which I did at Harrow: I fought Lord Calthorpe for writing D-d Atheist!' under my name; and prevented the school-room from being burnt during a rebellion, by pointing out to the boys the names of their fathers and grandfathers on the walls.

*

"Had I married Miss C-, perhaps the whole tenor of my life would have been different.* She jilted me, however, but her marriage proved any thing but a happy one. † She was at length separated from Mr. M—, and proposed an interview with me, but by the advice of my sister I declined it. I remember meeting her after my return from Greece,

*

Perhaps in his lyrical pieces, even those To Thyrza,' he never surpassed those exquisitely feeling Stanzas beginning"O had my fate been join'd to thine," &c.

but pride had conquered my love; and yet it was not with perfect indifference I saw her.*

"For a man to become a poet (witness Petrarch and Dante) he must be in love, or miserable. I was both when I wrote the Hours of Idleness;' some of those poems, in spite of what the reviewers say, are as good as any I ever produced.

"For some years after the event that had so much influence on my fate, I tried to drown the remembrance of it and her in the most depraving dissipation; but the poison was in the cup. *

*

"There had been found by the gardener, in digging, a skull that had probably belonged to some jolly friar or monk of the Abbey about the time it was dis-monasteried.".

"I heard at the Countess S's the other eveuing,” said I, interrupting him," that you drink out of a skull now." He took no notice of my observa

tion, but continued:

"Observing it to be of giant size, and in a perfect state of preservation, a strange fancy seized me of

66

* Yet I was calm. I knew the time

My heart would swell but at thy look;
But now to tremble were a crime.
We met, and not a nerve was shook!

+ And monks might deen their time was come agen
"If ancient tales say true, nor wrong the holy men.'
Childe Harold, Canto I. Stanza 7.

having it set and mounted as a drinking-cup. I accordingly sent it to town, and it returned with a very high polish, and of a mottled colour, like tortoiseshell; (Colonel Wildman now has it.) I remember scribbling some lines about it; but that was not all: I afterwards established at the Abbey a new order, The members consisted of twelve, and I elected myself grand master, or Abbot of the Skull, a grand heraldic title. A set of black gowns, mine distinguished from the rest, was ordered, and from time to time, when a particular hard day was expected, a chapter was held; the crane was filled with claret, and, in imitation of the Goths of old, passed about to the gods of the Consistory, whilst many a prime joke was cut at its expense.'

"You seem," said I, "to have had a particular predilection for skulls and cross-bones; a friend of mine, Mr. told me he took some home for you

from Switzerland."

"They were from the field of Morat," said he; "a single bone of one of those heroes is worth all the skulls of all the priests that ever existed."

Talking of Morat," said I, "where did you find the story of Julia Alpinula? M-and I searched among its archives in vain."

"I took the inscription," said he, "from an old chronicle; the stone has no existence.--But to continue. You know the story of the bear that I brought up for a degree when I was at Trinity. I

had a great hatred of College rules, and contempt for academical honours. How many of their wranglers have ever distinguished themselves in the world? There was, by the bye, rather a witty satire founded on my bear. A friend of Shelley's made an Ourang Outang (Sir Oran Haut-ton) the hero of a novel, had him created a baronet, and returned for the borough of One Vote-I forget the name of the novel.* I believe they were as glad to get rid of me at Cambridget as they were at Harrow.

"Another of the wild freaks I played during my mother's life-time, was to dress up Mrs. and to pass her off as my brother Gordon, in order that my mother might not hear of my having such a female acquaintance. You would not think me a Scipio in those days, but I can safely say I never seduced any woman. I will give you an instance of great forbearance :-Mrs. L. G-wrote and offered to let me have her daughter for £100. Can you fancy such depravity? The old lady's P. S. was excellent. With dilicaci every thing may be made asy.' But the same post brought me a letter from the young one, deprecating my taking advantage of their necessities, and ending with saying that she prized her virtue. I respected it too, and sent her some money. There are few Josephs in the world, and many Potiphar's wives.

"A curious thing happened to me shortly after the honey-moon, which was very awkward at the time,

* Melincourt.

He remained at Cambridge till nineteen.