The Diary of John Cam Hobhouse. Hobhouse
(Wiki) (1786-1869) was a close friend of
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, and "Hobby-O's" diary contains a vivid account of Hobhouse's friendship and travels with Byron. As editor Peter Cochran writes: "Educated at Westminster and Trinity College Cambridge, [Hobhouse]
travelled east with Byron in 1809, was Best Man at
Byron’s wedding in 1815,
travelled across Switzerland in Byron’s company in 1816 after the separation,
around Rome with Byron in 1817, and
lived with Byron in Venice in the same year. He
met Byron at Pisa again in 1822, after Byron’s facetious poem on his imprisonment in Newgate,
My Boy Hobby-O, had almost terminated their friendship. As a member of the London Greek Committee he encouraged Byron on his last journey in 1823; and had he insisted, Byron’s memoirs would almost certainly not have
been destroyed in 1824." (Memoirs which, in hindsight, are considered a "
missing masterpiece.") Also read Hobhouse's
account of Byron's funeral.
posted by jayder
on Nov 1, 2006 -
6 comments
