next letter I wrote to him, of jesting a little on this opinion, and his
motives for it. It was, no doubt (I ventured to say), excellent policy
in him, who had made sure of his own immortality in this style of
writing, thus to _throw overboard_ all _us poor devils_, who were
embarked with him. He was, in fact, I added, behaving towards us much in
the manner of the methodist preacher who said to his congregation--"You
may think, at the Last Day, to get to heaven by laying hold on my
skirts; but I'll cheat you all, for I'll wear a spencer, I'll wear a
spencer!"]

* * * * *

Of his daily rides on the Lido, which he mentions in this letter, the
following account, by a gentleman who lived a good deal with him at
Venice, will be found not a little interesting:--

"Almost immediately after Mr. Hobhouse's departure, Lord Byron proposed
to me to accompany him in his rides on the Lido. One of the long narrow
islands which separate the Lagune, in the midst of which Venice stands,
from the Adriatic, is more particularly distinguished by this name. At
one extremity is a fortification, which, with the Castle of St. Andrea
on an island on the opposite side, defends the nearest entrance to the
city from the sea. In times of peace this fortification is almost
dismantled, and Lord Byron had hired here of the Commandant an
unoccupied stable, where he kept his horses. The distance from the city
was not very considerable; it was much less than to the Terra Firma,
and, as far as it went, the spot was not ineligible for riding.

"Every day that the weather would permit, Lord Byron called for me in
his gondola, and we found the horses waiting for us outside of the fort.