into any statement made to Lord Byron" (as if it could well have been left out), "you will not do so without assuring him of my unwillingness to oppose the smallest obstacle to his wishes, or give the slightest pain to his mind. The injury which, in my judgment, he is from day to day inflicting upon society is no justification for measures of retaliation and unkindness."
Even the expansive generosity of this last sentiment failed to soften Byron's wrath, when the vicar's scruples were communicated to him. He anathematized the reverend gentleman in language too vigorous for repetition, and he demanded of Murray, "what was the matter with the inscription,"—apparently under the impression that he had mistaken his dates, or misquoted his text. His anger deepened into fury when he was subsequently informed that Allegra's interment in Harrow Church was held to be a deliberate insult to Lady Byron, who occasionally attended the services there. He wrote passionately that of his wife's church-goings he knew nothing; but that, had he known, no power would have induced him to bury his
