ways
tried to prove that he was wrong in thinking so highly of Napoleon. But
on account of this Lord Byron broke off the correspondence suddenly,
which vexed Madame de Stael not a little. The invasion of France, the
humiliation of a great nation, was painful to him; and this generous
sentiment even caused him to commit a real _fault, which he expressed
regret for more than once_, says Madame G----, when conversing with her
at Pisa and Genoa. The fault was a certain feeling of hostility indulged
toward the illustrious Duke of Wellington, whom he yet confessed to be
the glory of his country.

"P.S.--If you hear any news of battle or retreat on the part of the
Allies (as they call them), pray send it. He has my best wishes to
manure the fields of France with an invading army. I hate invaders of
all countries, and have no patience with the cowardly cry of exultation
over him at whose name you all turned whiter than the snow to which you
are indebted for your triumph."

He was too generous an enemy to echo the Archbishop of Canterbury's
prayer.[204]

As a Whig, he was indignant at the Prince of Wales's conduct in
deserting his political banner and passing over to the Tories when he
became regent; so he wrote some hard verses against him,--"Lines to a
Lady weeping," addressed to the Princess Charlotte.

This poem was the olive-branch that Robert was about to snatch from the
tomb. All evil passions were now let loose against Lord Byron.

The Tory party--so influential then, and which saw with displeasure the
future promise of a great orator held out in the person of a young Whig
peer--gladly seized a pretext for displaying its hostility. The higher
clergy naturally clung to the interests of the aristocracy, as identical
with their own: moreover, they were vexed with the young lord for
attacking intolerancy, hypocrisy, and similar anti-Christian qualities,
and consequently espoused with ardor Tory grievances. Pretending even to
discover danger to religion in some philosophical verses,[205] they
denounced the young poet as an _atheist_ and a _rebel_. At the same time
his admiration for foreign beauties wounded feminine self-love at home.

In thus placing the interests of truth above every other consideration,
not only from the necessity he experienced of expressing it, but also
with the design of serving justice, Lord Byron by no means ignored the
formidable amount of burning coals he was piling upon his head. He knew
wel