FAMILY OF LORD BYRON. 23 near his hut, from which nothing was to be dealt out but in the measure and proportion agreed upon by the officers; and though it was very hard upon us, as petty officers, who were fatigued with hunting all day in quest of food, to defend this tent from invasion by night, no other means could be devised for this purpose so effectual as the committing this charge to our custody. Yet, notwithstanding our utmost vigilance and care, frequent robberies were committed upon our trust, the tent being accessible in more than one place. The allowance which might consistently be dispensed from thence was so little proportionable to our common exigencies, together with our daily and nightly task of roving after food, not in the least relaxed, that many at this time perished with hunger. A boy, when no other eatables could be found, having picked up the liver of one of the drowned men (whose carcass had been torn to pieces by the force with which the sea drove it among the rocks), was with difficulty withheld from making a meal of it. It must be observed, that on the 14th of May we were cast away, and it was not till the 25th of this month that provision was served regularly from the store-tent. "Whenever the weather permitted, which was now grown something drier, but exceedingly cold, we employed ourselves about the wreck, from which we had at sundry times recovered several articles of provision and liquor; these 24 GENEALOGICAL SKETCH OF THE were deposited in the store-tent. Ill-humour and discontent, from the difficulties we laboured under in procuring subsistence, and the little prospect there was of any amendment in our condition, was now breaking out apace. In some it showed itself by a separation of settlement and habitation; in others, by a resolution of leaving the captain entirely, and making a wild journey by themselves, without determining upon any plan whatever. For my own part, liking none of their parties, I built a little hut just big enough for myself and a poor Indian dog I found in the woods, who could shift for himself along shore at low water, by getting limpets. This creature grew so fond of me, and faithful, that he would suffer nobody to come near the hut without biting them. "Our number, which was at first one hundred and forty-five, was now reduced to one hundred, and chiefly by famine, which put the rest upon all shifts and devices to support themselves. One day, when I was at home in my hut with my Indian dog, a party came to my door, and told me their necessities were such, that they must eat the creature or starve. Though their plea was urgent, I could not help using some arguments to endeavour to dissuade them from killing him, as his faithful services and fondness deserved it at my hands; but, without weighing any arguments, they took him away by force and killed him; FAMILY OF LORD BYRON. 25 upon which, thinking that I had at least as good a right to a share as the rest, I sat down with them, and partook of their repast. Three weeks after that I was glad to make a meal of his paws and skin, which, upon recollecting the spot where they had killed him, I found thrown aside and rotten." The use which Lord Byron has made of this incident, in the second canto of "Don Juan," has exposed him to the charge of plagiarism by some" learned Theban," whose name we forget. We subjoin the passage: Hunger's rage grew wild: So Juan's spaniel, spite of his entreating, On the sixth day they fed upon his hide, And Juan, who has still refused, because The creature was his father's dog that died, Now feeling all the vulture in his jaws, After enduring hardships, the mere relation of which is frightful, the remnant of the ship's crew, reduced by various desertions to only five persons, were carried by some Indians to the island of Chiloe. Mr. Byron and Captain Cheap were of this party. The apprehensions which they had reasonably enough entertained of rough usage from the inhabitants of Chiloe, turned out to be 26 GENEALOGICAL SKETCH OF THE unfounded; they were treated with great humanity, and, for the first time since their shipwreck, had sufficient food to satisfy their hunger. From the island of Chiloe they were taken to Castro, where the Spanish corregidor of the town gave them to understand, that they, being Englishmen, were prisoners to the government of Spain. Here, however, they were also kindly treated, and had a plentiful supply of food: but such an impression had their former privations made upon them, that their appetites seem to have increased to an ungovernable degree, and even to have overcome all notions of decency and propriety, even in men whose education and habits had taught them to observe the customs of civilized life. Such a strange thing is human nature, and so nearly do its mere passions ally it to the brutes that perish! Mr. Byron says, speaking of the amazing quantity which he and his companions ate, "It is amazing that our eating to that excess we had done, from the time we first got among these kind Indians, had not killed us; we were never satisfied, and used to take all opportunities, for some months after, of filling our pockets when we were not seen, that we might get up two or three times in the night to cram ourselves. Capt. Cheap used to declare that he was quite ashamed of himself." At Castro, Mr. Byron seems to have made an impression on the niece of a rich old priest, of whom she was the reputed heiress. "This young lady," FAMILY OF LORD BYRON. 27 he says, "did me the honour to take more notice of me than I deserved; and proposed to her uncle to convert me, and afterwards begged his consent to marry me. As the old man doated upon her, he readily agreed to it; and accordingly, on the next visit I made him, acquainted me with the young lady's proposal, and his approbation of it, taking me at the same time into a room where there were several chests and boxes, which he unlocked; first showing me what a number of fine clothes his niece had, and then his own wardrobe, which he said should be mine at his death. Amongst other things, he produced a piece of linen, which he said should immediately be made up into shirts for me. I own this last article was a great temptation to me; however, I had the resolution to withstand it, and made the best excuses I could for not accepting of the honour they intended me; for by this time I could speak Spanish well enough to make myself understood." The confession, which he makes of the difficulty he had to withstand the temptation of the shirts, is a proof how far the love of clean linen will carry a man. At length the prisoners, whom the death of two had reduced to Captain Cheap, Mr. Byron, and Mr. Hamilton, were taken to Chili in the beginning of 1743, where Mr. Byron was hospitably entertained for nearly two years in the house |