Byron and Mary Anne Chaworth were fourth cousins, both being fifth in
descent from George, Viscount Chaworth, whose daughter Elizabeth was
married to William, third Lord Byron (d.
descent from George, Viscount Chaworth, whose daughter Elizabeth was
married to William, third Lord Byron (d.
Byron
Apreece (Lady
Davy), Mrs. Coutts, "beat by the Duke of St. Albans," and the Princess
Olive of Cumberland. "We have heard," the note concludes, "that he
proposed for the Duchess of Cleveland, and was cut out by Beau Fielding,
but we think that must have been before his time a little. "]
[582] {542}["If '_the_ person' had not by many little dirty sneaking
traits provoked it, I should have been silent, though I _had observed_
him. Here follows an alteration. Put--
"Devil with such delight in damning
That if at the resurrection
Unto him the free selection
Of his future could be given
'Twould be rather Hell than Heaven.
You have a discretionary power about showing. "--Letter to Murray,
November 9, 1820, _Letters_, 1901, v. 113. ]
[ia] ----_would you know 'em? _--[_Fraser's_, etc. ]
[583] [Addressed to Miss Chaworth, in allusion to a duel fought between
two of their ancestors, D[ominus] B[yron] and Mr. C. , January 26, 1765.
Byron and Mary Anne Chaworth were fourth cousins, both being fifth in
descent from George, Viscount Chaworth, whose daughter Elizabeth was
married to William, third Lord Byron (d. 1695), the poet's
great-great-grandfather. The duel between their grand-uncles, William,
fifth Lord Byron, and William Chaworth, Esq. , of Annesley, was fought
between eight and nine o'clock in the evening of Saturday, January 26,
1765 (see _The Gazetteer_, Monday, January 28, 1765), at the Star and
Garter Tavern, Pall Mall. The coroner's jury brought in a verdict of
wilful murder (see for the "Inquisition," and report of trial, _Journals
of the House of Lords_, 1765, pp. 49, 126-135), and on the presentation
of their testimony to the House of Lords, Byron pleaded for a trial "by
God and his peers," whereupon he was arrested and sent to the Tower. The
case was tried by the Lords Temporal (the Lords Spiritual asked
permission to withdraw), and, after a defence had been read by the
prisoner, 119 peers brought in a verdict of "Not guilty of murder,
guilty of manslaughter, on my honour. " Four peers only returned a
verdict of "Not guilty. " The result of this verdict was that Lord Byron
claimed the benefit of the statute of Edward VI. , and was discharged on
paying the fees.
The defence, which is given in full (see Journal, etc. , for April 17,
1765), is able and convincing. Whilst maintaining an air of chivalry and
candour, the accused contrived to throw the onus of criminality on his
antagonist. It was Mr. Chaworth who began the quarrel, by sneering at
his cousin's absurd and disastrous leniency towards poachers. It was
Chaworth who insisted on an interview, not on the stairs, but in a
private room, who locked the door, and whose demeanour made a challenge
"to draw" inevitable.
Davy), Mrs. Coutts, "beat by the Duke of St. Albans," and the Princess
Olive of Cumberland. "We have heard," the note concludes, "that he
proposed for the Duchess of Cleveland, and was cut out by Beau Fielding,
but we think that must have been before his time a little. "]
[582] {542}["If '_the_ person' had not by many little dirty sneaking
traits provoked it, I should have been silent, though I _had observed_
him. Here follows an alteration. Put--
"Devil with such delight in damning
That if at the resurrection
Unto him the free selection
Of his future could be given
'Twould be rather Hell than Heaven.
You have a discretionary power about showing. "--Letter to Murray,
November 9, 1820, _Letters_, 1901, v. 113. ]
[ia] ----_would you know 'em? _--[_Fraser's_, etc. ]
[583] [Addressed to Miss Chaworth, in allusion to a duel fought between
two of their ancestors, D[ominus] B[yron] and Mr. C. , January 26, 1765.
Byron and Mary Anne Chaworth were fourth cousins, both being fifth in
descent from George, Viscount Chaworth, whose daughter Elizabeth was
married to William, third Lord Byron (d. 1695), the poet's
great-great-grandfather. The duel between their grand-uncles, William,
fifth Lord Byron, and William Chaworth, Esq. , of Annesley, was fought
between eight and nine o'clock in the evening of Saturday, January 26,
1765 (see _The Gazetteer_, Monday, January 28, 1765), at the Star and
Garter Tavern, Pall Mall. The coroner's jury brought in a verdict of
wilful murder (see for the "Inquisition," and report of trial, _Journals
of the House of Lords_, 1765, pp. 49, 126-135), and on the presentation
of their testimony to the House of Lords, Byron pleaded for a trial "by
God and his peers," whereupon he was arrested and sent to the Tower. The
case was tried by the Lords Temporal (the Lords Spiritual asked
permission to withdraw), and, after a defence had been read by the
prisoner, 119 peers brought in a verdict of "Not guilty of murder,
guilty of manslaughter, on my honour. " Four peers only returned a
verdict of "Not guilty. " The result of this verdict was that Lord Byron
claimed the benefit of the statute of Edward VI. , and was discharged on
paying the fees.
The defence, which is given in full (see Journal, etc. , for April 17,
1765), is able and convincing. Whilst maintaining an air of chivalry and
candour, the accused contrived to throw the onus of criminality on his
antagonist. It was Mr. Chaworth who began the quarrel, by sneering at
his cousin's absurd and disastrous leniency towards poachers. It was
Chaworth who insisted on an interview, not on the stairs, but in a
private room, who locked the door, and whose demeanour made a challenge
"to draw" inevitable.
