" and died at Ravenna. There is some 66 thing inspiring in such an air. * * The following lines will shew the attachment Lord Byron had to the tranquil life he led at Ravenna: "Sweet hour of twilight, in the solitude "Of the pine-forest and the silent shore "Which bounds Ravenna's immemorial wood, "Rooted where once the Adrian wave flow'd o'er "To where the last Cæsarean fortress stood, 66 86 Evergreen forest! which Boccaccio's lore And Dryden's lay made haunted ground to me, "How have I loved the twilight hour and thee! "The shrill cicalas, people of the pine, 66 Making their summer lives one ceaseless song, "Were the sole echoes save my steed's and mine, "And vesper bell's that rose the boughs among." Don Juan, Canto III. Stanza 105. "The people liked me, as much as they hated the Government. It is not a little to say, I was popular with all "the leaders of the Constitutional party. 66 66 They knew that I came from a land of liberty, and wished well to their cause. "I would have espoused it too, and as66 sisted them to shake off their fetters. 66 66 They knew my character, for I had been living two years at Venice, where many "of the Ravennese have houses. I did 66 66 'not, however, take part in their intrigues, nor join in their political coteries; but "I had a magazine of one hundred stand "of arms in the house, when every thing 66 66 was ripe for revolt. A curse on Carig nan's imbecility! I could have pardon"ed him that too, if he had not impeached "his partisans. The proscription was im 66 mense in Romagna, and embraced many "of the first nobles: almost all my friends, among the rest the Gambas, were in"cluded in it. They were exiled, and "their possessions confiscated. They "knew that this must eventually drive 66 66 66 66 me out of the country. I did not fol low them immediately; I was not to be bullied. I had myself fallen under the eye of the Government. If they could "have got sufficient proof, they would "have arrested me: but no one betrayed 66 me; indeed there was nothing to be66 tray. I had received a very high de66 gree, without passing through the inter"mediate ranks. In that corner you see 66 66 papers of one of their societies. Shortly "after the plot was discovered, I received several anonymous letters, advising me "to discontinue my forest rides; but I 66 ery, and was more on horseback than 66 ever. I never stir out without being "well armed, and and sleep with pistols. 66 "They knew that I never missed my aim; 66 perhaps this saved me. An event oc"curred at this time at Ravenna that "made a deep impression on me; I al"luded to it in Don Juan.' The mili 66 66 6 tary Commandant of the place, who, though suspected of being secretly a "Carbonaro, was too powerful a man to "be arrested, was assassinated opposite "to my palace; a spot perhaps selected "by choice for the commission of the "crime. The measures which were 66 adopted to screen the murderer prove "the assassination to have taken place by "order of the police. I had my foot in "the stirrup at my usual hour of exer 66 66 report of a gun. On looking up I perceived a man throw down a carbine and run away at full speed, and another stretched upon the pavement a few yards from me. On hastening towards him, I found that it was the unhappy "Commandant. A crowd was soon col"lected, but no one ventured to offer the "least assistance. I soon directed my 66 servant to lift up the bleeding body and 66 66 carry it into my palace; but it was re presented to me that by so doing I should confirm the suspicion of being " of his party, and incur the displeasure of "the Government. However, it was no "time to calculate between humanity and 66 danger. I assisted in bearing him into "the house, and putting him on a bed. "He was already dead from several 66 wounds; he appeared to have breathed |
