nd perturbed. Her
situation, in a short time, might have entitled her to some tenderness;
but she made no claim on him for any. He sometimes reproached her for
the motives that had induced her to marry him: all was "vanity, the
vanity of Miss Milbanke carrying the point of reforming Lord Byron! He
always knew her inducements; her pride shut her eyes to his: he wished to
build up his character and his fortunes; both were somewhat deranged: she
had a high name, and would have a fortune worth his attention,--let her
look to that for his motives!"--"O Byron, Byron!" she said, "how you
desolate me!" He would then accuse himself of being mad, and throw
himself on the ground in a frenzy, which she believed was affected to
conceal the coldness and malignity of his heart,--an affectation which at
that time never failed to meet with the tenderest commiseration. I could
find by some implications, not followed up by me, lest she might have
condemned herself afterwards for her involuntary disclosures, that he
soon attempted to corrupt her principles, both with respect to her own
conduct and her latitude for his. She saw the precipice on which she
stood, and kept his sister with her as much as possible. He returned in
the evenings from the haunts of vice, where he made her understand he had
been, with manners so profligate! "O the wretch!" said I. "And had he
no moments of remorse?" "Sometimes he appeared to have them. One night,
coming home from one of his lawless parties, he saw me so indignantly
collected, and bearing all with such a determined calmness, that a rush
of remorse seemed to come over him. He called himself a monster, though
his sister was present, and threw himself in agony at my feet. I could
not--no--I could not forgive him such injuries. He had lost me for ever!
Astonished at the return of virtue, my tears, I believe, flowed over his
face, and I said, 'Byron, all is forgotten: never, never shall you hear
of it more!' He started up, and, folding his arms while he looked at me,
burst into laughter. 'What do you mean?' said I. 'Only a philosophical
experiment; that's all,' said he. 'I wished to ascertain the value of
your resolutions.'" I need not say more of this prince of duplicity,
except that varied were his methods of rendering her wretched, even to
the last. When her lovely little child was born, and it was laid beside
its mother on the bed, and he was informed he might see his daughter,
after