BIB_ID
81069
Accession number
MA 52.63
Creator
Broderip, William John, 1789-1859.
Display Date
1824 July 5.
Credit line
Acquired before 1923.
Description
1 item (4 p.) ; 22.6 cm
Notes
It is uncertain to which Mr. Smedley this letter is written, but as Edward Smedley was a writer it is possible he may have been the recipient.
Mr. Broderip served as Magistrate at the Thames Police court.
Part of a collection of autograph letters written by Lord Byron, Lady Byron, Catherine Gordon Byron, Contessa Guiccioli, Ada King Lovelace and others from 1788 to 1855. Items in the collection have been described individually in separate catalog records; see collection-level record for more information.
Mr. Broderip served as Magistrate at the Thames Police court.
Part of a collection of autograph letters written by Lord Byron, Lady Byron, Catherine Gordon Byron, Contessa Guiccioli, Ada King Lovelace and others from 1788 to 1855. Items in the collection have been described individually in separate catalog records; see collection-level record for more information.
Summary
Describing, in detail, his observance, as he was "proceeding down the river this morning", of the arrival of Lord Byron's body on the brig "Florida" and the transfer of the body to a barge; saying "That coffin contained the body of Lord Byron. There were a few straggling boats about the ship and after I had seen the remains which lately contained the most towering spirit in Europe placed in the barge, & had directed my people to preserve order & decency in the event of a crowd of boats following it, I departed;" adding that "The quarter deck was shrouded from view by a main sail and the stern posts were not above a quarter raised. I suppose the friends of the deceased had issued orders for the greatest privacy to be observed, but I could not help feeling that there was an air of desertion about the scene which added to the melancholy of it."
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