to Hodgson, directly after his return
from the East. And then again, "My inclinations and my health make me
wish to leave England; neither my habits nor constitution are improved
by your customs or your climate. I shall find employment in making
myself a good Oriental scholar. I shall buy a mansion in one of the
fairest islands, and describe, at intervals, the most interesting
portions of the East."

Lord Byron wrote this before he had attained great celebrity, but this
did not change either his sentiments or his tastes. Notwithstanding the
embarrassments arising from the legacy left him by his great uncle, and
which were principally caused by the action brought against him on
account of the illegal sale of the Rochdale mines (a suit which Lord
Byron gained, but the expenses of which were ruinous), he was
nevertheless sufficiently rich to live at ease, to let his needy friends
enjoy the profits arising from his works, and to allow himself acts of
beneficence and generosity that were the joy of his heart. And when he
had done all that, he still found that he could not spend the surplus
in England according to his tastes. After the death of his mother, no
longer bound by his promise to her of not selling Newstead, he resolved
on effecting the sale so as to settle his affairs definitively. The sale
having failed, the forfeit brought him in L25,000; and he wrote to
Moore, in September, 1814:--

"I shall know to-morrow whether a circumstance, of importance enough to
change all my plans, will occur or not.[139] If it does not, I am off
for Italy next month.

"I have a few thousand pounds which I can't spend after my own heart in
this climate, and so I shall go back to the south. Hobhouse, I think and
hope, will go with me; but whether he will or not, I shall. I want to
see Venice and the Alps, and Parmesan cheeses, and look at the coasts of
Greece, or rather Epirus, from Italy as I once did, or fancied I did,
that of Italy, when off Corfu."

A few days before writing this letter, his evil destiny had led him to
take a step fatal to all his future happiness.

A person, for whom he entertained both affection and deference,
observing one day how unsettled he appeared in his state of mind and
projects for the future, again reiterated, with more earnestness than
ever, the advice to marry.

After long discussions Lord Byron promised to do so. But who should be
the object of his choice? A young lady was named who seemed to po