" For this harsh judgment, Moore challenged him; but the duel was
stopped by the police. This hostile meeting was turned to ridicule by
Byron in the lines:
When Little's leadless pistols met his eye,
And Bow-street myrmidons stood laughing by.
LATER FORTUNES.--Moore was now the favorite--the poet and the dependent of
the nobility; and his versatile pen was principally employed to amuse and
to please. He soon began that series of _Irish Melodies_ which he
continued to augment with new pieces for nearly thirty years.
Always of a theatrical turn, he acted well in private drama, in which the
gentlemen were amateurs, and the female parts were personated by
professional actresses. Thus playing in a cast with Miss Dyke, the
daughter of an Irish actor, Moore fell in love with her, and married her
on the 25th of March, 1811.
With a foolish lack of judgment, he lost his hopes of preferment, by
writing satires against the regent; but as a means of livelihood, he
engaged to write songs for Powers, at a salary of L500 per annum, for
seven years.
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