Newstead Abbey fell out badly. In 1808, Lord Grey left at the end of his lease and Byron returned to live at Newstead and began extensive and expensive renovations. His works were mainly decorative, however, rather than structural, so that rain and damp obscured his changes within just a few years. Byron had a beloved Newfoundland dog named Boatswain, who died of rabies in 1808. Boatswain was buried at Newstead Abbey and has a monument larger than his master's. The inscription, from Byron's poem "Epitaph to a Dog", has become one of his best-known works: Near this Spot Are deposited the Remains
Newfoundland English and "me" were pronounced "me", "mine" was pronounced "meen". This older usage has carried over into present-day Newfoundland English. An example would be, "Where's me hat?" as opposed to "Where is my hat?" The use of "to" to denote location is common in Newfoundland English. Where's that to? ("Where's that?"). This is a carryover from West Country dialects and is still common in southwest England, particularly Bristol. There is also a dialect of French centred mainly on the Port au Port Peninsula on the west coast of the island which has affected the syntax of English in the area. One