CHAPTER XII. On the Banishment of Ovid.-Lord Byron's Visit to the Field of Waterloo.-Fortress of Ehrenbreitstein.-French General Marceau.-Pyramid of Bones at Morat.-Clarens, on the Lake of Geneva.-Rousseau.-Monks of St. Bernard.Superstition and Infidelity contrasted.- Description of the Jungfraw.-Departure for Italy. IT is not improbable but that the exile of Lord Byron, though his own spontaneous act, may, in a distant age, form as curious a question in literary history, as the banishment of Ovid has hitherto proved to commentators. The Roman poet, if we are to take his own word for it, was not sent to waste the remainder of his life on the borders of the Euxine, for any fault of his own, but simply because it was his misfortune to have witnessed something which he ought not to have seen. Hence conjectures have multiplied to BANISHMENT OF OVID. 251 the wildest extent, to ascertain the cause of this harsh measure; aud, in order to save the character of a favourite writer, that of Augustus has been calumniated without mercy; though, luckily for his reputation, the matters alledged against him are fully disproved by the evidence of facts and dates. But there is still more than this to be said in favour of the emperor; for if the poet was actually the victim of imperial tyranny, it is scarcely to be believed that he would have idolized the author of his wrongs. Yet Ovid, after his exile, praised Augustus in the highest terms for his liberality, and even when he had nothing more to hope or dread from his power, the poet erected an altar to his memory among the Getæ, in whose country he resided. Such being the fact, it is reasonable to suppose that the misfortune of this ingenious writer was the consequence of his own indiscretion, and that it did not proceed from the capriciousness of despotism. There is nothing in the known history of Ovid to make one think more favourably of him; and his writings are alone sufficient to induce the belief that his relegation, notwithstanding his insinuation to the 252 CASE OF LORD BYRON. contrary, was a punishment justly inflicted upon him for his criminality. The author of Childe Harold has also endeavoured to persuade the world that he is a persecuted man; and that his exile, though not a judicial stretch of power, has been produced by oppression of a severer description. It must, perhaps, be left to posterity to determine the truth of this point, when time shall have developed those scenes and circumstances which prudence now buries in secresy: in the mean time, however, it ill becomes a man to complain of what he had it in his power to avoid; and, therefore, he who omits to perform those things which are necessary for the preservation of his own peace and character, must be content to endure the consequences of his neglect. If Lord Byron, instead of guarding the various important trusts belonging to him in his own land, thought it expedient to become a wanderer upon earth, he may thank himself for the hard judgment which the public has formed, and still continues to entertain of that conduct which led him to renounce his country, on the extraordinary pretence that his wife had forsaken him. The laws were sufficiently strong, and the administration of them pure enough, to have afforded him redress under his circumstances; and therefore if he did not avail himself of the common protection which the legal courts of the kingdom indiscriminately grant to all subjects, it can only be ascribed to that discretion which of two evils chooses the least, and inclines to submit to an unpleasant privation, rather than suffer more acutely by a fearful exposure. Having thus taken his option, the noble lord crossed over to France, through which he passed rapidly to Brussels, taking in his way a survey of the field of Waterloo. Twelve months had not elapsed since the decision of empires had taken place on this memorable spot, where mad ambition received its death-blow, and the rage for war its most effectual check: notwithstanding which, the jaundiced mind of the poet could contemplate this interesting spectacle without a single sentiment of patriotism, or philanthropy. What his feelings would have been had Napoleon triumphed instead of being overthrown, we can only surmise from what he has expressed in the following note : 254 66 VISIT TO WATERLOO. My guide from Mont St. Jean over the field seemed intelligent and accurate. The place where Major Howard fell, was not far from two tall and solitary trees (there was a third cut down or shivered in the battle) which stand a few yards from each other at a pathway's side. Beneath these he died, and was buried. The body has since been removed to England. A small hollow for the present marks where it lay, but will probably be soon effaced; the plough has been upon it, and the grain is. After pointing out the different spots where Picton and other gallant men had perished; the guide said, 'Here Major Howard lay; I was near him when wounded.' I told him my relationship, and he seemed then still more anxious to point out the particular spot and circumstances. The place is one of the most marked in the field, from the peculiarity of the two trees above mentioned. I went on horseback twice over the field, comparing it with my recollection of similar scenes. As a plain, Waterloo seems marked out for the scene of some great action, though this may be mere imagination. I have viewed with attention those of Platæa, Troy, Mantinea, |