SHELLEY 



387 



interested in the scheme of a great embankment 

 against the sea. In October he made Godwin's 

 personal acquaintance in London. During the 

 winter he was active in the relief of the Buttering 

 poor of Tremadoc, studied history and philosophy, 

 and added to his manuscript poems. On the njght 

 of 26th February 1813 an attempt was either really 

 made by some villain to enter the lonely house of 

 Tanyrallt, or Shelley with over-heated fancy con- 

 jured up such an outrage. He hastily quitted 

 Tremadoc, and, after an excursion to Dublin, Cork, 

 and Killarney, once again settled in London. In 

 June 1813 his wife gave birth to a daughter who 

 was named lanthe (married to Mr Esdaile, died 

 1876). On Harriet's recovery some stay was made 

 at Bracknell in Berkshire. Queen Mab was printed 

 for private distribution, its religious and political 

 views being considered too hostile to received 

 opinions to admit of public circulation. The poem 

 sets forth Shelley's youthful conceptions of the past 

 history of humanity, its present evils, and future 

 progress. It is often crude, often rhetorical, yet 

 there is more than a promise of poetical power in 

 certain passages. In the autumn (1813) perhaps 

 to obtain time to settle with creditors Shelley and 

 his household went northward to the English Lakes, 

 and thence to Edinburgh, but before the new year 

 opened he was settled at Windsor. About this 

 time he wrote a prose dialogue ( published 1814), 

 A Refutation of Deism, designed to prove that 

 there is no via media between Christianity and 

 Atheism. 



In March 1814 Shelley went through the cere- 

 mony of marriage with Harriet according to the 

 rites of the English Church, probably to get at rest 

 any doubts of the validity of the Scotch marriage. 

 He was endeavouring to raise large sums of money 

 on Godwin's behalf, and the marriage may have 

 been considered advisable to render certain the 

 legitimacy of a future son and heir. Four months 

 later he had separated from his wife for ever. 

 Their early married happiness had become hope- 

 lessly clouded ; an attempt at reconciliation made 

 by Shelley in May was reiected. Harriet withdrew 

 to Bath. It was stated by Miss Clairmont, the 

 daughter of Godwin's second wife, that Shelley 

 declared in July 1814 that Harriet had yielded 

 herself to a certain Major Ryan, and Godwin in 

 1817 stated in writing that he had evidence in- 

 dependent of Shelley of her unfaithfulness before 

 Shelley left her. No such evidence is in our 

 possession to-day, and statements to the contrary 

 were made by Harriet herself and by several 

 persons who knew her well. The division between 

 husband and wife, whatever its causes, was deep. 

 Shelley had become suddenly and passionately 

 enamoured of Godwin's daughter, Mary, a girl of 

 fine intellect and vigorous character. Having in- 

 formed Harriet of his resolve to leave her finally, 

 and having made arrangements for her material 

 comfort, In- took flight to the Continent with Mary 

 Godwin on 28th July 1814. Miss Clairmont accom- 

 panied the fugitives. Shelley was inexperienced 

 enough to suppose that Harriet could still regard 

 him as a considerate friend, though no longer her 

 husband. 



After a journey across France and a short stay 

 in Switzerland, Shelley and his companions re- 

 turned by the Rhine to England. The last months 

 of 1814 were full of vexation caused by debts and 

 dans. But in January 1815 Shelley's grandfather 

 died, and by an arrangement with his father he 

 obtained an income of a thousand a year. His 

 health unhappily showed the effects of the previous 

 year's strain and excitement. He sought rest and 

 refreshment in Devon, and in August found a 

 home at Bishopsgate, on the edge of Windsor 

 Forest. In the autumn of 1815 Alastor, his first 



really admirable poem, was written. It tells of 

 the ruin of an idealist who, pining for absolute 

 love and beauty, shuns human society ; its vision- 

 ary landscapes have the largeness and ideality 

 characteristic of Shelley. In January 1816 Mary 

 gave birth to a son, who was named after her 

 father ; but Godwin still held aloof. It was 

 decided to try life upon the Continent, and in May 

 Shelley and Mary travelled through France to 

 Geneva. Miss Clairmont, whose intrigue with 

 Byron was unknown to Shelley and Mary, accom- 

 panied them. On the shores of the Lake of Geneva 

 a meeting took place between Byron and Shelley. 

 They rowed and sailed together on the lake, and 

 Shelley in company with Mary made an excursion 

 to Chamouni. In the poem Mont Blanc and the 

 Hymn to Intellectual Beauty we find a poetic 

 record of the impressions of these memorable days. 

 In September they were once more in Eng- 

 land. The suicide, following a state of deep 

 depression, of Fanny, the half-sister of Mary 

 (see GODWIN, WILLIAM), gave Shelley a great 

 shock, and this disaster was soon followed by 

 the death of Harriet Shelley. For some time 



Ct Shelley had in vain inquired for her. She 

 i formeu an irregular connection with one 

 who, it is believed, deserted her. On 10th Decem- 

 ber her body was discovered in the Serpentine ; 

 had she lived she would soon have given birth to a 

 child. It was another severe shock to Shelley, but 

 he always maintained that he himself was ' inno- 

 cent of ill, either done or intended.' Free now to 

 make Mary his lawful wife, he at once celebrated 

 his marriage (30th December 1816). A long Chan- 

 cery suit followed, Shelley seeking to obtain pos- 

 session of his daughter lanthe and his son Charles 

 (born November 1814 died 1826), the Westbrooks 

 resisting. At length Lord Eldon gave judgment 

 which compromised the matter ; Shelley's opinions 

 being such as led to immoral and illegal conduct, 

 he was disqualified for bringing up his children, 

 but he might appoint caretakers and tutors to be 

 approved by the court. The blow was deeply felt 

 by Shelley. While the Chancery a Hair was pro- 

 ceeding he was cheered by the friendship of Leigh 

 Hunt and of Horace Smith. His home was at 

 Marlow on the Thames, and here he wrote frag- 

 ments of his Prince A thanase, a portion of Rosalind 

 and Helen, and his long narrative poem Laon and 

 Cythna, designed to sustain men's hopes in ideala 

 of freedom and progress during days of political 

 reaction. When some few copies of Laon and 

 Cythna had been issued the publisher withdrew 

 it from circulation, and induced Shelley to alter 

 certain lines and phrases which might give 

 offence. As thus revised the poem was issued 

 with a new title, The Revolt of Islam. During his 

 residence at Marlow Shelley worked earnestly and 

 systematically in the relief of the poor. He printed 

 two pamphlets, A Proposal for Putting Reform to 

 the Vote, by 'The Hermit of Marlow,' and An 

 Address to the People on the Death of the Princess 

 Charlotte. In the spring of 1818 it was feared that 

 he was threatened with pulmonary disease. He 

 decided to seek a southern climate, and in April, 

 with Mary, little William, an infant daughter 

 Clarp, (born 2d September 1817), Miss Clairmont 

 and her child Allegra (Byron's daughter), he left 

 England for Italy, never again to see his native 

 land. 



In the summer of 1818, at the Baths of Lucca, 

 Shelley completed his Rosalind and Helen, and 

 made his translation of Plato's Banquet. Grief 

 came with the autumn ; little Clara died on 24th 

 September at Venice, where Shelley had been 

 renewing his companionship with Byron. Memorials 

 of this visit to Venice, with an idealised presenta- 

 tion of Byron, will be found in the admirable poem 



