She put forth no statements, no documents; had no party, sealed the lips of her counsel, and even of her servants; yet she could not but have known, from time to time, how thoroughly and strongly this web of mingled truth and lies was being meshed around her steps.
From the time that Byron first saw the importance of securing Wilson on his side, and wrote to have his partisans attend to him, we may date an entire revolution in the 'Blackwood.' It became Byron's warmest supporter,--is to this day the bitterest accuser of his wife.
Why was this wonderful silence?
It appears by Dr.Lushington's statements, that, when Lady Byron did speak, she had a story to tell that powerfully affected both him and Romilly,--a story supported by evidence on which they were willing to have gone to public trial.

Supposing, now, she had imitated Lord Byron's example, and, avoiding public trial, had put her story into private circulation; as he sent 'Don Juan' to fifty confidential friends, suppose she had sent a written statement of her story to fifty judges as intelligent as the two that had heard it; or suppose she had confronted his autobiography with her own,--what would have been the result?
The first result might have been Mrs.Leigh's utter ruin.

The world may finally forgive the man of genius anything; but for a woman there is no mercy and no redemption.
This ruin Lady Byron prevented by her utter silence and great self-command.

Mrs.Leigh never lost position.

Lady Byron never so varied in her manner towards her as to excite the suspicions even of her confidential old servant.
To protect Mrs.Leigh effectually, it must have been necessary to continue to exclude even her own mother from the secret, as we are assured she did at first; for, had she told Lady Milbanke, it is not possible that so high-spirited a woman could have restrained herself from such outward expressions as would at least have awakened suspicion.