TO MRS. BYRON.
"Athens, February 28. 1811.
"Dear Madam,
"As I have received a firman for Egypt, &c., I shall proceed to that
quarter in the spring, and I beg you will state to Mr. H. that it is
necessary to further remittances. On the subject of Newstead, I answer
as before, _No._ If it is necessary to sell, sell Rochdale. Fletcher
will have arrived by this time with my letters to that purport. I will
tell you fairly, I have, in the first place, no opinion of funded
property; if, by any particular circumstances, I shall be led to adopt
such a determination, I will, at all events, pass my life abroad, as
my only tie to England is Newstead, and, that once gone, neither
interest nor inclination lead me northward. Competence in your country
is ample wealth in the East, such is the difference in the value of
money and the abundance of the necessaries of life; and I feel myself
so much a citizen of the world, that the spot where I can enjoy a
delicious climate, and every luxury, at a less expense than a common
college life in England, will always be a country to me; and such are
in fact the shores of the Archipelago. This then is the
alternative--if I preserve Newstead, I return; if I sell it, I stay
away. I have had no letters since yours of June, but I have written
several times, and shall continue, as usual, on the same plan.
Believe me, yours ever,
BYRON.
"P.S.--I shall most likely see you in the course of the summer, but,
of course, at such a distance, I cannot specify any particular
month.
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