Show THE HE BOOK SHELF living deat it in prison cell told by byron by ELIZABETH C JAMES TORD T ORD BYRONS the prisoner of AJ A J chillon Is a story of dungeons and chains of cruelty and death beside lake leman in switzerland stands a castle that once saw the imprisonment and death of the last members of a noble family the dungeon of this castle was so deep that the water of the lake seeped through the walls and formed little pools on the prison floor sunlight never came into the dark prison there was only one window and that was high and small through it came light during a short part of the day but the sunshine never came through and the distorted light gave a wan and ghostly appearance 1 pe arance to the interior of the dee deep P dungeon into this prison were placed three brothers they were elizabeth the last members james alive of their honorable family there had been seven in the beginning but the father had been burned at the stake two brothers had died on the field of battle and their mother had died of a broken heart placed so that they could not see each other each man was chained to a rock pillar now the three of them languished in their chains which were so fastened that their bodies were soon indelibly scared one brother dies after a time the voice of the second brother the active out of door one grew more and more despondent he spoke more softly and less often then he did not speak at all when the keeper came to bring their water and prison food he found this brother dead the two remaining brothers the oldest and the youngest sons of the family talked with each other of the battles and the insurrection that had brought them to this prison but one day the youngest of the family did not answer his brothers voice there was only quietness in the dungeon broken by the hysterical cries of the eldest son shrieking to his brother to stay with him but he had died terror then calm for a time he was stunned with grief he lost track of time or place he was not conscious of anything except vague then gradually his senses returned to remind him that he was alone in the prison cell when the keepers came and found that he had burst his chains they did not consider that it was worthwhile to chain him fast again then he wanted to see the world again and he made steps up the side of the uneven rock wall until he could clutch the ledge of the window and pull himself up to look out through the little opening across the waters of lake leman and opposite the castle he saw in LORD BYRON A PLAYBOY two handicaps attended george gordon lord byron his family environment and his own vanity gordon grew up without training for his mother being deserted by her willful husband the rowdy captain byron declined into melancholia so overwhelming that at times her mind seemed doomed the parents left the boy to grow up alone byrons natural pride was enhanced by his unexpected inh inherit h tance of the estate and ditl title e which there had been two h hel e ahead of him his attractiveness enes ital combined with his lack of principle r cl kept him in mix ups with women all his bis life ills his marriage to a lovely woman of england went happily for only a short time soon after their daughter was born lady byron left her husband never to return to him she steadfastly refused to give any reason tor for this but london soon heard of his behavior in a scandal he be was ostracized and fled to italy until the end of his life byron lived on the continent I 1 the distance an island green and bright in summer sun freedom meaningless r then one day he was set fi made negotiations after a t arp keeper opened the heavy barred door and told him that he could now go free the prisoner stood alone on the shore of the lake where could he go he had no one in the world to whom he could return every kinsman had been killed there was no friend left who would welcome it he was still as much alone as it if he were yet chained to his pillar in the dungeon lord byron wrote his poem the prisoner of chillon from a true story there was a prisoner one francois Bo nivard kept for four years in the dungeon of the castle of chillon near lake geneva bell syndicate service |