: Byron's Narrative of the Loss of the Wager With an account of the great distresses suffered by himself and his companions on the coast of Patagonia from the year 1740 till their arrival in England 1746 by Byron John - Patagonia (Argentina and Chile); Wage

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BYRON'S NARRATIVE OF THE LOSS OF THE WAGER

WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE GREAT DISTRESSES SUFFERED BY HIMSELF AND HIS COMPANIONS ON THE COAST OF PATAGONIA FROM THE YEAR 1740 TILL THEIR ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND 1746

LONDON HENRY LEGGATT & CO 85 CORNHILL

LONDON: PRINTED BY BRADBURY AND EVANS, BOUVERIE STREET.

ADVERTISEMENT.

At a time when every thing connected with the name of Byron is regarded with such general interest, it is a subject of surprise and regret that no popular edition should exist of the Narrative of Commodore Byron. Indeed, to procure any copy at all of the work requires some research and trouble. To supply this deficiency is the object of the present publishers.

To the admirers of the illustrious Poet, the Narrative of the sufferings of his grandfather will, on more than one account, be acceptable. In the Poems, it is often, whether humorously or pathetically, alluded to; for instance, in the mournfully beautiful stanzas to his sister, written soon after he left England for the last time, he says,

Again, in a different mood, in Don Juan, after having carried his hero through the horrors of a shipwreck, as disastrous and fatal in itself and its consequences as his imagination could conceive, he observes--

To which passage he appends the following note:--"Admiral Byron was remarkable for never making a voyage without a tempest. He was known to the sailors by the facetious name of 'foul-weather Jack.'" Indeed, to this narrative the poet is indebted for many of the incidents in that surpassing description of "the dangers of the sea." The awful "whispering" in which, according to the Admiral, the men communicated their first horrid thoughts of putting one of their number to death for the support of the rest, is admirably preserved and amplified in Don Juan:

"At length one whispered his companion, who Whispered another, and thus it went round, And then into a hoarser murmur grew, An ominous and wild, and desperate sound, And then his comrade's thought each sufferer knew, 'Twas but his own, suppressed till now, he found: And out they spoke of lots for flesh and blood, And who should die to be his fellow's food."

The germ of the conception of the cave-scenes, so beautifully described in the poem, will also be found here; the fondness of Juan for his favourite dog, the voracity with which he devoured the long-withheld food, and many other incidents, were suggested by this Narrative.

To those who would study the character of Lord Byron; discover what qualities of his nature were derived from his ancestors, and what were peculiarly his own; who would trace the effect produced on his writings by early tastes, habits, and associations, the narrative will afford ample material for observation.

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