nd the
object of universal attention which he has become, have already produced
upon his soul that softening influence which I had expected and
foreseen; and I trust, that all his former grief will now have passed
forever."

Galt himself, despite the effort he seems to make in praising him, can
not help owning that at this period, when every body was kind to Lord
Byron, he, on his side, displayed the utmost gentleness, kindness,
amiability, and desire of obliging, combined with habitual gayety and
pleasantry. The general tone of his memoranda at this time, particularly
in 1813, shows him _pleased with every body and every thing_.

After having praised Moore, he speaks highly of Lord Ward, afterward
Lord Dudley:--

"I like Ward," he says, and adds, "by Mohammed! I begin to fear getting
to like every body; a disposition not to be encouraged. It is a sort of
social gluttony, that makes one swallow all one comes in contact with.
But I do like Ward."

Nevertheless, this serenity, by lasting over the interval that elapsed
between his twenty-third and twenty-sixth year, at which period his
marriage took place, was traversed by many clouds, more or less
evanescent, and he still had hours and days of melancholy. Assuredly,
Lord Byron could not avoid those oscillations of heart and mind that
belong to the very essence of the human heart. But, at least, it is easy
to assign a palpable cause for all the fits of ennui or melancholy
experienced at this time. All his tendencies then show indifference, if
not dislike, to female society. His ideal of perfection had spoilt him
for women, in the first instance, and the unfortunate experience he had
of them still further lowered his opinion of them. But if he did not
care about them, it was presumptuous to think he could put aside the sex
altogether.

By adopting an anchorite's regimen, he strengthened, it is true, the
spiritual part of his nature; and certainly seemed to believe his heart
would be satisfied with friendship. His acquaintance with Moore,
especially, gave to his daily existence the intellectual and spiritual
aliment so necessary to him. But he reckoned on setting woman aside, and
his presumptuous heart numbered only twenty-three summers! Among the
letters and tokens of homage that piled his table in those days figured
many rose-colored notes, written on gilt-edged perfumed paper. Such
incense easily ascends, and it was not surprising that his head should
also suffer.