" which
appeared
in
the _Nineteenth Century_ (August, 1899, vol.
the _Nineteenth Century_ (August, 1899, vol.
Byron
189); in the _Scots Magazine_, December, 1822, N.
S.
vol.
xi.
pp. 688-694; the _European Magazine_, January, 1823, vol. 83, pp. 73-76;
and in the _Eclectic Review_, February, 1823, N. S. vol. xix. pp.
148-155.
NOTE TO THE INTRODUCTION TO _WERNER_.
In an article entitled, "Did Byron write _Werner_?
" which appeared in
the _Nineteenth Century_ (August, 1899, vol. 46, pp. 243-250), the Hon.
F. Leveson Gower undertakes to prove that _Werner_ was not written by
Lord Byron, but by Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (born June 9, 1757,
died March 30, 1806). He adduces, in support of this claim, (1) a
statement made to him by his sister, the late Lady Georgiana Fullerton,
to the effect that their grandmother, the duchess, "wrote the poem and
gave the MS. to her niece, Lady Caroline Ponsonby (better known as Lady
Caroline Lamb), and that she, some years later, handed it over to Lord
Byron, who, in 1822, published it in his own name;" (2) a letter written
in 1822 by his mother, Lady Granville, to her sister, Lady Carlisle,
which asserts that their mother, the duchess, "wrote an entire tragedy
from Miss Lee's _Kreutzner the Hungarian_ (_sic_)," and that the MS. had
been sent to her by Lady Caroline's brother, Mr. William Ponsonby, and
was in her possession; (3) another letter of Lady Granville's, dated
December 3, 1822, in which she informs her sister that her husband, Lord
Granville, had promised to read _Werner_ aloud to her (i. e. Byron's
_Werner_, published November 23, 1822), a promise which, if fulfilled,
must have revealed one of two things--the existence of two dramas based
on Miss Lee's _Kruitzner_, or the identity of Byron's version with that
of the duchess. Now, argues Mr. Leveson Gower, if Lady Granville had
known that two dramas were in existence, she would not have allowed her
daughter, Lady Georgiana Fullerton, to believe "that the duchess was the
author of the published poem. "
I will deal with the external evidence first. Practically it amounts to
this: (1) that Lady Granville knew that her mother, the Duchess of
Devonshire, dramatized Miss Lee's _Kruitzner_; and (2) that Lady
Georgiana Fullerton believed that the duchess gave the MS. of her play
to Lady Caroline Ponsonby, and that, many years after, Lady Caroline
handed it over to Byron.
pp. 688-694; the _European Magazine_, January, 1823, vol. 83, pp. 73-76;
and in the _Eclectic Review_, February, 1823, N. S. vol. xix. pp.
148-155.
NOTE TO THE INTRODUCTION TO _WERNER_.
In an article entitled, "Did Byron write _Werner_?
" which appeared in
the _Nineteenth Century_ (August, 1899, vol. 46, pp. 243-250), the Hon.
F. Leveson Gower undertakes to prove that _Werner_ was not written by
Lord Byron, but by Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (born June 9, 1757,
died March 30, 1806). He adduces, in support of this claim, (1) a
statement made to him by his sister, the late Lady Georgiana Fullerton,
to the effect that their grandmother, the duchess, "wrote the poem and
gave the MS. to her niece, Lady Caroline Ponsonby (better known as Lady
Caroline Lamb), and that she, some years later, handed it over to Lord
Byron, who, in 1822, published it in his own name;" (2) a letter written
in 1822 by his mother, Lady Granville, to her sister, Lady Carlisle,
which asserts that their mother, the duchess, "wrote an entire tragedy
from Miss Lee's _Kreutzner the Hungarian_ (_sic_)," and that the MS. had
been sent to her by Lady Caroline's brother, Mr. William Ponsonby, and
was in her possession; (3) another letter of Lady Granville's, dated
December 3, 1822, in which she informs her sister that her husband, Lord
Granville, had promised to read _Werner_ aloud to her (i. e. Byron's
_Werner_, published November 23, 1822), a promise which, if fulfilled,
must have revealed one of two things--the existence of two dramas based
on Miss Lee's _Kruitzner_, or the identity of Byron's version with that
of the duchess. Now, argues Mr. Leveson Gower, if Lady Granville had
known that two dramas were in existence, she would not have allowed her
daughter, Lady Georgiana Fullerton, to believe "that the duchess was the
author of the published poem. "
I will deal with the external evidence first. Practically it amounts to
this: (1) that Lady Granville knew that her mother, the Duchess of
Devonshire, dramatized Miss Lee's _Kruitzner_; and (2) that Lady
Georgiana Fullerton believed that the duchess gave the MS. of her play
to Lady Caroline Ponsonby, and that, many years after, Lady Caroline
handed it over to Byron.
