2-ds. VI. 151., Nov. 20. '58.] ' NOTES AND QUEKIES. 



405 



LONDON, SATUItDAY, NOVEMBER 20. 1858. 



INEDITED LETTERS OF SHJELLET. 



The subjoined letters of the Poet Shelley may 

 not be unacceptable to you, copied from the ori- 

 ginals in my possession ; they appear to have been 

 unknown to his biographers. 



Philip H. Howard. 



Corby Castle, Cth Nov. 1858. 



Percy Bysshe Shelley., Esq., to Charles Duke of 

 Norfolk. 



"York, October 28, 1811. 

 " Mr. Stickland's, Blake Street. 



" My Lord Duke, 

 " As I experienced from you such an unde- 

 served instance of friendly interposition in the 

 Spring, as I am well aware how much my Father 

 is influenced by the mediation of a third person, 

 and as I know none to whom I could apply with 

 greater hopes of success than to yourself, I take 

 the liberty of soliciting the interference of your 

 Grace with my father in my behalf. You have 

 probably heard of my marriage. I am sorry to 

 say that it has exasperated my Father to a great 

 degree, surely greater than is consistent with jus- 

 tice, for he has not only withTield the means of 

 subsistence which his former conduct and my 

 habits of life taught me to expect as reasonable 

 and proper, but has even refused to render me 

 any, the slightest assistance. He referred me on 

 application to a Mr. Whitton, whose answer to my 

 letter vaguely complained of the disrespectfulness 

 of mine to my father. These letters were calcu- 

 lated to make his considerations of my proceedings 

 less severe. My situation is consequently most 

 unpleasant: under these circumstances I request 

 your Grace to convince my father of the severity 

 of his conduct, to persuade him that my offence is 

 not of the heinous nature that he considers it, to 

 induce him to allow me a sufficient income to live 

 with tolerable comfort. I am also particularly 

 anxious to defend Mr. Medwin from any accusa- 

 tions of aiding and assisting me, which my father 

 may bring against him. I am convinced that a 

 statement of plain truth on this head will remove 

 any prejudice against Mr. M. from the mind of 

 your Grace. That he did lend me £25 when I 

 left Field Place is most true. But it is equally 

 true that he was ignorant of my intentions ; that 

 he was ignorant of the purposes to which I was 

 about to apply the money ; that he expressed his 

 regret that he had unknowingly been instrumental 

 in my schemes, and that he declined lending me 

 an additional sum when he was aware of them. I 

 apologize for thus trespassing upon your goodness, 

 and conclude by expressing my hopes of your 



compliance with my request, of the consequent 

 success, and of subscribing myself 

 " Your Grace' 



" Very obliged hum, Ser'. 

 " Percy Bysshe Shelley. 



" His Grace the Duke of Norfolk, 

 " St. James' Square, London." 

 [Post mark, Oct. 30, 1811.] 



Sir Timothy Shelley, Bart, to his Son. 



« Miller's Hotel, 26th May, 1813. 

 " My dear Boy, 



"I am sorry to find by the contents of your 

 letter of yesterday that I was mistaken in the 

 conclusion I drew from your former letter, in 

 which you assur'd me a change had taken place 

 in some of the most unfavorable Traits of your 

 Character, as what regards your avow'd opinions 

 are in my Judgment the most material parts 

 of Character requiring amendment ; and as you 

 now avow there is no change effected in them, I 

 must decline all further Communication, or any 

 Personal Interview, untill that shall be Effected, 

 and I desire you will consider this as my final 

 answer to any thing you may have to offer. 



" If that Conclusion had not operated on my 

 mind to give this answer, I desire you also to un- 

 derstand that I should not have received any 

 Communication but through His Grace the Duke 

 of Norfolk, as I know his exalted mind will pro- 

 tect me at the moment and with the World. 



" I beg to return all usual remembrance. 

 "I am y^ Affect'' Father, 



" T. Shelley." 

 [No endorsement.] 



The above seems to have been enclosed in the 

 following : — 



Percy Bysshe Shelley, Esq., to Charles Duke of 

 Norfolk. 



" My Lord Duke, 



" I sincerely regret that any part of your valu- 

 able time should have been occupied in the vain 

 and impossible task of reconciling myself and my 

 father. Allow me however to express my warmest 

 gratitude for the interest you have so kindly 

 taken in my concerns, which have thus unex- 

 pectedly terminated in disunion and disappoint- 

 ment. 



" I was prepared to make to my father every 

 reasonable concession, but I am not so degraded 

 and miserable a slave, as publickly to disavow 

 an opinion which I believe to be true. Every 

 man of common sense must plainly see that a sud- 

 den renunciation of sentiments seriously taken up 

 is as unfortunate a test of intellectual uprightness 

 as can possibly be devised. I take the liberty of 

 enclosing my father's letter for your Grace's in- 

 spection. I repeat what I have said from the 

 commencement of this negociation, in which pri- 

 vate communications from my father first induced 



