Littéra’Tour
mischievous, but seizes all in an indiscriminative
manner. This incident has been tremendously sorrowful
to Lionel, for Raymond had been a worthy friend.
Perdita, unable to endure her husband’s loss, put an
end to her own days, for days were insufferable without
her soulmate by her side. Lionel, now burdened not
only by the loss of a faithful
companion but also by that of
a sister, his only blood relation
since boyhood, returned to
Windsor, full of despair, yet
glad to retrieve sweet Idris and
their babes, as well as his truest
friend and benefactor Adrian.
“ Lord Raymond, by some
unlooked-for chance, became the
possessor of an immense fortune
in England, whither he returned,
crowned with glory, to receive the
meed of honour and distinction
before denied to his pretensions.
His proud heart rebelled against
this change. Power therefore was
the aim of all his endeavours;
aggrandizement the mark at
which he for ever shot. In open
ambition or close intrigue, his
end was the same--to attain the first station in his own
country...Among his other advantages, Lord Raymond was
supremely handsome; every one admired him; of women
he was the idol. He was courteous, honey-tongued--an
adept in fascinating arts. What could not this man achieve
in the busy English world? ... The brow of the ambitious
Raymond might be encircled with the magic ring of
regality.” -The Last Man- Volume1; Chapter III.
Lord Byron was an English nobleman, poet
and politician. He unquestionably was an intricate
personage. He was depicted as a «mixture of
affectionate sweetness and playfulness, by which it
was impossible not to be attached» oddly mingled
with «silent rages, moody sullenness and revenge».
Byron himself wrote: “I am so changeable, being
everything by turns and nothing long - I am such a
strange mélange of good and evil that it would be
difficult to describe me”. Given that he had journeyed
extensively across the continent, and died of a severe
fever caught in Aetolia –Ottoman Empire (present day
Aetolia- Greece), we can effortlessly see Mary paying
tribute to his ardent enthusiasm in Lord Raymond, the
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latter succumbed in similar circumstances to those by
which Lord Byron passed away. Raymond’s wild spirit
and tameless passion are inspired by Lord Byron’s self-
willed nature, as Lady Caroline Lamb -one of his many
lovers- epitomised him in the brief yet staunch phrase
«mad, bad, and dangerous to know».
(Illustration
here-opposite:
Portrait of George Gordon
Byron, by Thomas Phillips-
1813).
The tale only got more morose
from there: an enormous
calamity arose from a most
detestable event; a plague had
made its appearance in the
east, and progressed in stour
steps towards our protagonists’
native England. Needless to
say that chaos and fear have
reigned over the globe. It was
the most alarming emergency
case that the world had ever
hosted. People began to die,
and those who didn’t, had to
witness their loved ones perish
one after the other. People
abandoned their accustomed occupations, rulers
forsook their subjects and merchants left their trades.
It became common to see lonely spirits on the streets
mourning the perdition of their lovers, children or
parents.
Adrian had hitherto isolated himself for the sake of
his idealistic ideas, in the pursuit of his noble goals,
he dreamt of a fairly flawless impeccable society with
pure faultless morals:
“In solitude, and through many wanderings
afar from the haunts of men, he matured his views
for the reform of the English government, and the
improvement of the people. It would have been well
if he had concealed his sentiments, until he had come
into possession of the power which would secure their
practical development. But he was impatient of the years
that must intervene; he was frank of heart and fearless.
He gave not only a brief denial to his mother’s schemes,
but published his intention of using his influence to
diminish the power of the aristocracy, to effect a greater
equalization of wealth and privilege, and to introduce a
perfect system of republican government into England.