And this the world calls frenzy."
Notwithstanding lapse of time, change of place, and a succession of
splendid and spirit-stirring scenes in various countries, the quiet and
gentle scene of his boyish love seems to have held a magic sway over
the recollections of Lord Byron, and the image of Mary Chaworth to have
unexpectedly obtruded itself upon his mind like some supernatural
visitation. Such was the fact on the occasion of his marriage with Miss
Milbanke; Annesley Hall and all its fond associations floated like a
vision before his thoughts, even when at the altar, and on the point of
pronouncing the nuptial vows. The circumstance is related by him with a
force and feeling that persuade us of its truth.
"A change came o'er the spirit of my dream.
The wanderer was returned.--I saw him stand
Before an altar--with a gentle bride;
Her face was fair, but was not that which made
The star-light of his boyhood;--as he stood
Even at the altar, o'er his brow there came
The self-same aspect, and the quivering shock
That in the antique oratory shook
His bosom in its solitude; and then--
As in that hour--a moment o'er his face
The tablet of unutterable thoughts
Was traced,--and then it faded as it came,
And he stood calm and quiet, and he spoke
The fitting vows, but beard not his own words,
And all things reel'd around him: he could see
Not that which was, nor that which should have been--
But the old mansion, and the accustomed hall,
And the remember'd chambers, and the place,
The day, the hour, the sunshine, and the shade,
All things pertaining to that place and hour,
And her who was his destiny, came back,
And thrust themselves between him and the light:
What business had they there at such a time?"
The history of Lord Byron's union is too well known to need narration.
Pages:
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177