the dullest people to break in upon him was exemplified, I am told, strongly in the case of one of the officers of the garrison, who, without being able to understand anything of the poet but his good-nature, used to say, whenever he found his time hang heavily on his hands, I think I shall ride out and have a little talk with Lord Byron.'

The person, however, whose visits appeared to give him most pleasure, as well from the interest he took in the subject on which they chiefly conversed, as from the opportunities, sometimes, of pleasantry which the peculiarities of his visitor afforded him, was a medical gentleman, named Kennedy, who, from a strong sense of the value of religion to himself, had taken up the benevolent task of communicating his own light to others. The first origin of their intercourse was an undertaking, on the part of this gentleman, to convert to a firm belief in Christianity some rather sceptical friends of his, then at Argostoli. Happening to hear of the meeting appointed for this purpose, Lord Byron begged that he might be allowed to attend, saying to the person through whom he conveyed his request, 'You know I am reckoned a black sheep,-yet, after 'all, not so black as the world believes me.' He had promised to convince Doctor Kennedy that, though 'wanting, perhaps, in faith, he at least had patience :" but the process of so many hours of lecture,-no less than twelve, without interruption, being stipulated for, -was a trial beyond his strength; and, very early in the operation, as the Doctor informs us, he began to show evident signs of a wish to exchange the part of hearer for that of speaker. Notwithstanding this, however, there was in all his deportment, both as listener and talker, such a degree of courtesy, candour,

and sincere readiness to be taught, as excited interest, if not hope, for his future welfare in the good Doctor; and though he never after attended the more numerous meetings, his conferences, on the same subject, with Dr. Kennedy alone, were not infrequent during the remainder of his stay at Cephalonia.

These curious Conversations are now published, and to the value which they possess as a simple and popular exposition of the chief evidences of Christianity, is added the charm that must ever dwell round the character of one of the interlocutors, and the almost fearful interest attached to every word that, on such a subject, he utters. In the course of the first conversation, it will be seen that Lord Byron expressly disclaimed being one of those infidels: 'who deny the Scriptures and wish to remain in 'unbelief.' On the contrary, he professed himself ' desirous to believe; as he experienced no happiness in having his religious opinions so unfixed.' He was unable, however, he added, to understand the Scrip

tures. Those who conscientiously believed them he 'could always respect, and was always disposed to "trust in them more than in others; but he had met 'with so many whose conduct differed from the principles which they professed, and who seemed to pro'fess those principles either because they were paid to do so, or from some other motive which an inti' mate acquaintance with their character would enable one to detect, that altogether he had seen few, if any, whom he could rely upon as truly and conscientiously believing the Scriptures.'

We may take for granted that these conversations, -more especially the first, from the number of sons present who would report the proceedings,

per

excited considerable interest among the society of Argostoli. It was said that Lord Byron had displayed such a profound knowledge of the Scriptures as astonished, and even puzzled, the polemic Doctor; while in all the eminent writers on theological subjects he had shown himself far better versed than his more

pretending opponent. All this Doctor Kennedy strongly denies; and the truth seems to be, that on neither side were there much stores of theological learning. The confession of the lecturer himself, that he had not read the works of Stillingfleet or Barrow, shows that, in his researches after orthodoxy, he had not allowed himself any very extensive range; while the alleged familiarity of Lord Byron with the same authorities must be taken with a similar abatement of credence and wonder to that which his own account of his youthful studies, already given, requires;-a rapid eye and retentive memory having enabled him, on this as on most other subjects, to catch, as it were, the salient points on the surface of knowledge, and the recollections he thus gathered being, perhaps, the livelier from his not having encumbered himself with more. To any regular train of reasoning, even on this his most favourite topic, it was not possible to lead him. He would start objections to the arguments of others, and detect their fallacies; but of any consecutive ratiocination on his own side he seemed, if not incapable, impatient. In this, indeed, as in many other peculiarities belonging to him, his caprices, fits of weeping, sudden affections and dislikes,-may be observed striking traces of a feminine cast of character;-it being observable that the discursive faculty is rarely exercised by women; but that nevertheless, by the mere instinct of truth (as was the case with

Lord Byron), they are often enabled at once to light upon the conclusion to which man, through all

very

the forms of reasoning, is, in the mean time, puzzling and, perhaps, losing his way :—

And strikes each point with native force of mind, 'While puzzled logic blunders far behind.'

Of the Scriptures, it is certain that Lord Byron was a frequent and almost daily reader,-the small pocketbible which, on his leaving England, had been given him by his sister, being always near him. How much, in addition to his natural solicitude on the subject of religion, the taste of the poet influenced him in this line of study, may be seen in his frequently expressed admiration of the ghost-scene,' as he called it, in Samuel, and his comparison of this supernatural appearance with the Mephistopheles of Goethe. In the same manner, his imagination appears to have been much struck by the notion of his lecturer, that the circumstance mentioned in Job of the Almighty summoning Satan into his presence was to be interpreted, not, as he thought, allegorically and poetically, but literally. More than once we find him expressing to Doctor Kennedy how much this belief ' of the real appearance of Satan to hear and obey the 'commands of God added to his views of the gran'deur and majesty of the Creator.'

On the whole, the interest of these Conversations, as far as regards Lord Byron, arises not so much from any new or certain lights they supply us with on the subject of his religious opinions, as from the evidence they afford of his amiable facility of intercourse, the total absence of bigotry or prejudice from even his most favourite notions, and-what may be accounted, perhaps, the next step in conversion to belief itself—

his disposition to believe. As far, indeed, as a frank submission to the charge of being wrong may be supposed to imply an advance on the road to being right, few persons, it must be acknowledged, under a process of proselytism, ever showed more of this desired symptom of change than Lord Byron. I own,' says a witness to one of these conversations *, 'I felt asto'nished to hear Lord Byron submit to lectures on his life, his vanity, and the uselessness of his talents, " which made me stare.'

As most persons will be tempted to refer to the work itself, there are but one or two other opinions of his lordship recorded in it which I shall think necessary to notice here. A frequent question of his to Doctor Kennedy was- What, then, you think me in a very bad way?-the usual answer to which being in the affirmative, he, on one occasion, replied,' I am ' now, however, in a fairer way. I already believe in predestination, which I know you believe, and in the depravity of the human heart in general, and of my 'own in particular:-thus you see there are two points in which we agree. I shall get at the others by and by; but you cannot expect me to become a perfect Christian at once.' On the subject of Dr. Southwood's amiable and, it is to be hoped for the sake of Christianity and the human race, orthodox work on the Divine Government,' he thus spoke: 'I cannot decide the point; but to my present apprehension it would be a most desirable thing could it be proved, that ultimately all created beings were to 'be happy. This would appear to be most consistent 'with God, whose power is omnipotent, and whose

*Mr. Finlay.