iven Byron two individualities. Lord Cadurcis represents Byron
from his infancy to the time of his marriage, and Mr. Herbert equally
represents Lord Byron from that fatal epoch till his death. The
selection of two persons to represent one same character and to allow of
Byron's simple yet complex nature being better understood was a very
happy philosophical notion.

He portrays Lord Byron as he was, or as he would have been in the given
circumstances; and he pictures the others as they should or might have
been, not as they were. In reading "Venetia" it is impossible not to
like Lord Cadurcis, and to admire him, just as all those who knew Lord
Byron loved and esteemed him, or not to respect Mr. Herbert, whom he
styles "the best and greatest of men," as he would have been revered had
Byron reached a greater age. He depicts Byron at every epoch of his
life, and as circumstances develop his latent predispositions.

He first shows him to us as the innocent child, whose heart is full of
tenderness, meekness, sensibility, and docility, such as his tutor, Dr.
Drury, said he was: "rather easier to be led with a silken string than
with a cable;" who is gifted with a noble and proud nature, which is
easily moved; who possesses a great sense of justice and an undaunted
courage; who scorns excuse and cares not to lessen his fault. He then
shows him as the thoughtful boy, both when alone and with others; and as
the gayest and wildest of creatures when in the company of the beloved
companion of his childish sports; a boy full of kindness, and of the
desire to please; whose absence is ever a subject of regret, so great is
the love he inspires, both in his master and in his servants, and indeed
in all who come near him. At his early age can already be traced the
germs of those qualities which foretell that brilliant mind which is to
win some day the heart of a nation, and dazzle the fancy of a world of
admirers. The sight of the fair hair and of the angelic beauty of the
little Venetia is enough to dry his tears; and herein we not only
perceive already the extreme impressionable disposition of his nature,
but also the power and influence which beauty is destined to exercise
over him. The love of solitude and meditation is already traceable in
the child. He loves to wander at night among the dark and solitary
cloisters of his Abbey; he loves to listen to the whistling of the wind
re-echoed by the cloisters; he delights in the murmurs of