1.47 1964 TO MR* 31-123548 BY PERMISSION, ΤΟ HIS EXCELLENCY THE MOST HONOURABLE THE MARQUIS OF LORNE, K.T., 953h 0233 Fl GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA, · THIS LITTLE WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. 749 PREFACE. Adverting to the most recent attempts in the present day to revive the interest in a life which the Memoirs by Moore might be supposed sufficiently to perpetuate, we may, in this brief epitome of Lord Byron's career and works, merely say, that neither Professor Elze, Castelar, Madame de Boissy, nor Mrs. Stowe seem to have entirely exhausted the subject. To indite, however, much that is new regarding a Poet, who, if not the greatest of English Bards, is one who, from his chequered life and almost matchless rhyme, has interested this country and perhaps the world more than any writer-save, it may be, Homer or Shakespeare-has not now been attempted. The records of his life and the universality of his works may be found in the Folio Catalogue of the National Library in the British Museum, where 112 pages attest the facts above averred. In this little voluine, some indulgent criticism of Lord Byron's poetry and some mild censure of his moral delinquencies have apparently been essayed by the Italian legislator and historian, Cantù, whose work, originally merely a printed lecture, has been amplified, through the kindness of subscribers, by the Editor of this volume. We may trust, therefore, that with all its imperfections, voids, or repetitions, the present little work may be found by the reader both useful and acceptable as a kind of compendium of the life and works of Lord Byron. Cesare Cantù, the writer of the brilliant essay now given, was born, it seems, in the first decade of this century, at Brescia, in Northern Italy, though some biographers assign Cantù, near Milan, as his birthplace. He became Professor of Belles Lettres, at Sondrio; *Tide Appendix. afterwards, as a member of the Italian Parliament, he was one of the few belonging to the Ultramontano party, who, in spite of liberal and patriotic ideas, sided with Papal Rome in politics. As a literary man, he has greatly contributed to the education of his country, and is the author of some popular religious hymns, whilst as a writer of fiction he has even more celebrity. His greatest work is the Storia Universale, a General History, 35 vols., published in Turin in 1837, though he has besides written much on Italy and its literature. His last work appears to have been Storia del Popolo e pel Popolo, 1871. .A. K. SUBSCRIBERS. Most Hon. His Excellency The MARQUIS of RIFON, K.G., Viceroy of India. Most Hon. His Excellency The MARQUIS of LORNE, K.T., Governor. General of Canada. (2 copies). Rt. Hon. The EARL of NORTHBROOK, G.C.S.I. Field Marshal LORD NAPIER, of Magdala, G.C.B. (2 copies). General C. E. FORD, R.E. General SIR ARTHUR PHAYRE, G.C.M.G., C.S.I. Colonel The Hon. C. H. LINDSAY, C.B. CHAS. W. KINLOCH, Esq., late B. C. S. Mrs. HITCHINGS. Mrs. KITSON. Col. J. J. GRAHAM, R.M.L.I., C.B. (2 copies). R. DURNFORD, Esq. FRANCIS CAMPBELL, Esq., Foreign Office. General WYNYARD. J. R. DASENT, Esq., Private Secretary. C. L. PEEL, Esq., C.B. H. A. KINLOCH, Esq. Dr. Hood. V. WING, Esq. Mrs. MACNAGHTEN. Mrs. RANDALL. ROBERT ANDERSON, Esq., M.A. WM. DEALTREY, Esq., C.M.G. EDUCATION DEPARTMENT. |