Letter from F. D. Shumach, Nottingham, to W. E. Henley, 1899 December 4 : autograph manuscript signed.

Concerning the work on Byron that Henley is editing; saying "If the following has not been communicated to you, it will no doubt be of interest, if not of value, to you, as I understand you are editing a 10 vol. edition of Byron - which I hope will contain, now that all his contemporaries have passed away, the 'autobiography', which, although Moore burned the original, was copied several times - so it is stated. When Byron, as a youth, pleasantly passed some of his holidays at Southwell, Notts, he became acquainted with Miss Pigot, to whom, I believe, he and the world are indebted for the suggestion that he should publish his youthful poems. He accordingly went to Ridge, of Newark, and we all know the result. I had an uncle - Henry Shumach, who was a great reader and admirer of Byron, and along with a George Ellis, frequently spent a little time with Miss Pigot, discussing Byron and his writings. The two men were much delighted with Miss Pigot's exceptional acquaintance of Byron and his works, and requested her to write her thoughts in poetical shape. The following lines were the result, the literary merit of which, as my uncle related in his diary, took them by surprise : / 'Byron! I knew thee in thy early day, When yet thy sun had scarcely shone a ray : / It rose resplendent - dazzled at its noon - / and now it sets in glory round thy tomb, / Leaving such a brightness on thy page for men, / That immortality is in thy pen. Done at Southwell by E. B. Pigot, 1859.' / In the copy of Byron's works presented to my uncle by Miss Pigot, (one also being given to George Ellis), the word 'immortality' is spelled 'mortality' - evidently an error of my uncle's in taking a copy from Ellis's book, which contains the original, and is still in the family's possession at Southwell. I, with pride, possess my uncle's copy, which also contains some M.S. of Byron's, certified by Elizabeth Bridget Pigot, as well as a fair portrait (Carte-de-Visite, 1866) of Miss Pigot, from which an illustration (process-block) could be made, if you consider it sufficiently interesting. Wishing you success in your task."