admirable stanzas, I shall never forget. After he had come to an end, he repeated the third, and said it was perfect, particularly the lines "But he lay like a warrior taking his rest, "With his martial cloak around him." "I should have taken," said Shelley, "the whole for a rough sketch of Campbell's." 66 66 66 No," replied Lord Byron : Campbell would have claimed it, if it had been "his." I afterwards had reason to think that the ode was Lord Byron's; that he was piqued at none of his own being mentioned; and, after he had praised the verses so highly, could not own them.* No other reason can be assigned for his not acknowledging himself the author, particularly as he was a great admirer of General Moore. Talking after dinner of swimming, he said: 66 Murray published a letter I wrote to "him from Venice, which might have seemed an idle display of vanity; but "the object of my writing it, was to con * I am corroborated in this opinion lately by a lady, whose brother received them many years ago from Lord Byron, in his Lordship's own handwriting. "tradict what Turner had asserted about "the impossibility of crossing the Helles 66 66 66 pont from the Abydos to the Sestos side, in consequence of the tide. 66 "One is as easy as the other; we did both." Here he turned round to Fletcher, to whom he occasionally referred, and said, Fletcher, how far was it Mr. Ekenhead and I swam ?" Fletcher replied, "Three miles and a half, my Lord." (Of course he did not diminish the distance.) "The real width of the Helles"pont," resumed Lord Byron, "is not "much above a mile; but the current is 66 prodigiously strong, and we were car"ried down notwithstanding all our efforts. "I don't know how Leander contrived "to stem the stream, and steer straight 66 across; but nothing is impossible in love 66 or religion. If I had had a Hero on the "other side, perhaps I should have worked "harder. We were to have undertaken 66 this feat some time before, but put it "off in consequence of the coldness of the "water; and it was chilly enough when 66 66 66 we performed it. I know I should have made a bad Leander, for it gave me an ague that I did not so easily get rid of. "There were some sailors in the fleet "who swam further than I did-I do not 66 66 say than I could have done, for it is the only exercise I pride myself upon, being "almost amphibious. 66 66 "I remember being at Brighton many years ago, and having great difficulty in making the land,—the wind blowing off the shore, and the tide setting out. "Crowds of people were collected on the "beach to see us. Mr. - (I think he "said Hobhouse) was with me; and," he 66 added, "I had great difficulty in saving "him-he nearly drowned me. "When I was at Venice, there was an “Italian who knew no more of swimming than a camel, but he had heard of my prowess in the Dardanelles, and challenged me. 66 66 66 Not wishing that any foreigner at least should beat me at my "own arms, I consented to engage in the " contest. Alexander Scott proposed to "be of the party, and we started from "Lido. Our land-lubber was very soon "in the rear, and Scott saw him make for 66 a gondola. He rested himself first "against one, and then against another, "and gave in before we got half way to "St. Mark's Place. We saw no more of |