184 



DISCOVERY 



the\' had now reached the gate where a guard was 

 stationed, and finding himself so well supported he 

 drew his sword, and after abusing them all as cursed 

 English {maledetli Inglesi), began to cut and slash to 

 the right and left, and what signified it to him if he 

 had the blood of all the English robbers — ^saying he 

 arrested them all. ' Do that if you can,' said Lord 

 B., and dashed through the guard with young Count 

 Gamba, and reached home to bring arms for what he 

 expected would turn to a serious scuffle. The dragoon, 

 finding the rest of the party intended to force their 

 way, made a desperate cut at Shelley, who took off 

 his cap, and warding the blow from the sharp part of 

 the sabre, the hilt struck his head and knocked him 

 down, when Captain Hay parried with a cane he had 

 in his hand, but the sword cut it in two, and struck 

 Captain Hay's face across the nose. A violent scene 

 now took place, and the dragoon tried to get into town 

 and escape, when Lord B. arrived, and half drawing 

 a sword-stick to show that he was armed, the fellow 

 put up his sword and begged of Lord B. to do the same. 

 It was now dark and, after walking a few paces with 

 Lord B., he put his horse into a gallop and endeavoured 

 to get off, but on passing Lord B.'s house, a servant 

 had armed himself with a pitchfork, and speared him 

 as he passed. He fell from his horse and was carried 

 to the hospital. His wound is in the abdomen." 



Of Byron's share in the fracas we have his own 

 account,! the latter part of which runs as follows : 

 " He called out the guard at the gates to arrest us (we 

 being unarmed) ; upon which I and another (an Italian) 

 rode through the said guard, but they succeeded in 

 detaining others of the party. I rode to my house 

 and sent my secretary to give an account of the attemp- 

 ted and illegal arrest to the authorities, and then, with- 

 out dismounting, rode back towards the gates, which 

 are near my present mansion. Half-way I met my 

 man vapouring away and threatening to draw upon 

 me (who had a cane in my hand, and no other arms). 

 I, still believing him an officer, demanded his name and 

 address, and gave him my hand and glove thereupon. 

 A servant of mine thrust in between us (totally without 

 orders), but let him go at my command. He then rode 

 off at full speed ; but about forty paces further was 

 stabbed, and very dangerously (so as to be in peril), 

 by soms Galium Beg or other of my people. . . I 

 need hardly say without my direction or approval. ... 

 Who wounded him, though it was done before thousands 

 of people, they have never been able to ascertain, or 

 prove. . . . They have arrested and examined servants 

 and people of all descriptions, but can make out 

 nothing." 



' Ref. II. Letter 491. Pisa, .May 4th, 182 

 Scott. 



To Sir \\'alter 



For a considerable period after this incident Pisa 

 was in an uproar. Masi eventually recovered. The 

 authorities did not take action against Byron person- 

 ally or any members of his party, but they imprisoned 

 two of his servants. The citizens appear to have been 

 somewhat divided in their attitude to the " Inglesi." 

 Some openly expressed their admiration of their bravery 

 by doffing their hats to them during the following 

 weeks whenever they saw them riding through the 

 streets. But there is no doubt that a violent under- 

 current of feeling against the English colony had been 

 aroused. Medwin,^ who had himself been at one time 

 a member of the ' ' pistol-club, ' ' recorded that, ' ' although 

 the wounded man recovered, his friend vowed ven- 

 geance with the dagger not only on Lord Bryon, but 

 on Shelley, and all the English who had formed the 

 cavalcade," and that " Lord BjTon was advised bv the 

 police to quit Pisa for a time. He complied and took a 

 viUa at Montenero, near Leghorn ; but after a six 

 weeks' abode there returned to the Casa Lanfranchi." 



Masi himself certainly harboured revenge. He was 

 no coward, and he appears to have possessed a strong 

 will of his own. He had fought in several campaigns 

 and received decorations for valour. He refused to 

 take money from B3Ton, when it was offered to him. 

 On March 26th Williams ' made this entry in his diary ; 

 " It is a singular circumstance that an affair of a 

 similar nature occurred to one of this man's brothers, 

 and, having been cured of a wound which he had re- 

 ceived in a scuffle, he waited concealed for the person 

 whom he suspected, stabbed him to the heart and 

 flung him into the river." Further, on April 7th, he 

 notes that the " dragoon is recovering fast, but swears 

 to be revenged when he gets on his legs again." 



I have dealt at some length with this incident 

 and the hostility which it produced, because, as I hope 

 to show, its significance cannot be disregarded in the 

 light of later events. 



II 



On April 15th it transpired that the houses at Spezia 

 which Shelley and Williams had discovered were not 

 to be had at any price. But a house was found on the 

 eastern side of the small bay. The Casa Magni, into 

 which the SheUeys and WiUiamses moved on April 

 26th, was perhaps the wildest and strangest of the 

 many strange dwelling-places that the poet inhabited. 

 Mrs. Shelley * has left a vivid account of the house (which 

 is stUl standing), and of its surroundings : " The Bay of 

 Spezia is of considerable extent, and divided by a 

 rocky promontory into a larger and smaller one. The 

 town of Lerici is situated on the eastern point, and in 

 the depth of the smaller baj*, which bears the name of 



= Ref. VI. P. 3S0. 3 Ref. IX. 



•• Ref. VII. P. 670. Note on poems of 1822. 



