Chapter 19: the Byron controversy, 1869-1870.
- Mrs. Stowe's statement of her own case. -- the circumstances under which she first met Lady Byron. -- letters to Lady Byron. -- letter to Dr. Holmes when about to publish “the true story of Lady Byron's life” in the “Atlantic.” -- Dr. Holmes's reply. -- the conclusion of the matter.
It seems impossible to avoid the unpleasant episode in Mrs. Stowe's life known as the Byron Controversy. It will be our effort to deal with the matter as colorlessly as is consistent with an adequate setting forth of the motives which moved Mrs. Stowe to awaken this unsavory discussion. In justification of her action in this matter, Mrs. Stowe says:--
What interest have you and I, my brother and my sister, in this short life of ours, to utter anything but the truth? Is not truth between man and man, and between man and woman, the foundation on which all things rest? Have you not, every individual of you, who must hereafter give an account yourself alone to God, an interest to know the exact truth in this matter, and a duty to perform as respects that truth? Hear me, then, while I tell you the position in which I stood, and what was my course in relation to it. A shameless attack on my friend's memory had appeared in the “ Blackwood” of July, 1869, branding Lady Byron as the vilest of criminals, and recommending
