Ruins of Despair

'This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery
if inscribed over human Ashes,
is but a just tribute to the Memory of
Boatswain, a Dog
who was born in Newfoundland May 1803
and died at Newstead November 18th 1808.'

The text, intro to Byron's poem 'Epitaph to a Dog' that follows, is by J. Hobhouse.

A black-and-white photograph of a stone monument.

'Near this Spot
are deposited the Remains of one
who possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferosity,
and all the virtues of Man without his Vices.'

The monument in Newstead Abbey to Lord Byron's beloved dog Boatswain, who died of rabies.
#dogs

#fountain #oldtree #sepia #classicmono #31daysofhalloween #photography

“The quiet sense of something lost” ~ Tennyson

moon murmurings

Swans sing before they die — 'twere no bad thing
Should certain persons die before they sing.

– S.T. Coleridge

All things that we love and cherish,
Like ourselves must fade and perish;
Such is our rude mortal lot—
Love itself would, did they not.

– P.B. Shelley

Neither am I. I've often seen it attributed to him, and it certainly does reflect his ethos, but I cannot figure out where this exact phrase would appear.

Every poem should remind the reader that they are going to die.

– Edgar Allan Poe

Percy Shelley: I propose we amuse ourselves with a ghost story competition!

Mary Shelley: no.

Percy: what?! But why?

Mary: I refuse to do anything until Byron takes off that helmet

Byron:

A sea change? That thing that killed Percy Shelley?

My mind has been the most discontented and restless one that ever was put into a body too small for it.

– John Keats

I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone.

– Lord Byron