FRAGMENT: 'UNRISEN SPLENDOUR OF THE BRIGHTEST SUN' [Published by Dr. Garnett, Relics of Shelley, 1862.] UNRISEN splendour of the brightest sun, To rise upon our darkness, if the star Now beckoning thee out of thy misty throne Could thaw the clouds which wage an obscure war FRAGMENT: PATER OMNIPOTENS [Edited from MS. Shelley E 4 in the Bodleian Library, and published by Mr. C. D. Locock, Examination, &c., Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1903. Here placed conjecturally amongst the compositions of 1820, but of uncertain date, and belonging possibly to 1819 or a still earlier year.] SERENE in his unconquerable might Endued[,] the Almighty King, his steadfast throne FRAGMENT: TO THE MIND OF MAN truth thou Vital Flame Mysterious thought that in this mortal frame Of things, with unextinguished lustre burnest Now pale and faint now high to Heaven upcurled That eer as thou dost languish still returnest And ever So soon as from the Earth formless and rude Thou wert, Thought; thy brightness charmed the lids The tree of good and evil.— NOTE ON POEMS OF 1820, BY MRS. SHELLEY WE spent the latter part of the year accomplishments, and charming from 1819 in Florence, where Shelley passed her frank and affectionate nature. She several hours daily in the Gallery, and had the most intense love of knowmade various notes on its ancient works ledge, a delicate and trembling sensiof art. His thoughts were a good deal bility, and preserved freshness of mind taken up also by the project of a after a life of considerable adversity. steamboat, undertaken by a friend, an As a favourite friend of my father, we engineer, to ply between Leghorn and had sought her with eagerness; and Marseilles, for which he supplied a sum the most open and cordial friendship of money. This was a sort of plan to was established between us. delight Shelley, and he was greatly disappointed when it was thrown aside. Our stay at the Baths of San Giuliano was shortened by an accident. At the foot of our garden ran the canal that communicated between the Serchio and the Arno. The Serchio overflowed its banks, and, breaking its bounds, this canal also overflowed; all this part of the country is below the level of its rivers, and the consequence was that it was speedily flooded. The rising waters filled the Square of the Baths, in the lower part of which our house was There was something in Florence that disagreed excessively with his health, and he suffered far more pain than usual; so much so that we left it sooner than we intended, and removed to Pisa, where we had some friends, and, above all, where we could consult the celebrated Vaccà as to the cause of Shelley's sufferings. He, like every other medical man, could only guess at that, and gave little hope of immediate relief; he en-situated. The canal overflowed in the joined him to abstain from all physicians and medicine, and to leave his complaint to Nature. As he had vainly consulted medical men of the highest repute in England, he was easily persuaded to adopt this advice. Pain and ill-health followed him to the end; but the residence at Pisa agreed with him better than any other, and there in consequence we remained. garden behind; the rising waters on either side at last burst open the doors, and, meeting in the house, rose to the height of six feet. It was a picturesque sight at night to see the peasants driving the cattle from the plains below to the hills above the Baths. A fire was kept up to guide them across the ford; and the forms of the men and the animals showed in dark relief against the red glare of the flame, which was reflected again in the waters that filled the Square. In the Spring we spent a week or two near Leghorn, borrowing the house of some friends who were absent on a journey to England. It was on a We then removed to Pisa, and took beautiful summer evening, while wan-up our abode there for the winter. The dering among the lanes whose myrtle- extreme mildness of the climate suited hedges were the bowers of the fire-flies, Shelley, and his solitude was enlivened that we heard the carolling of the sky- by an intercourse with several intimate lark which inspired one of the most friends. Chance cast us strangely enough beautiful of his poems. He addressed on this quiet half-unpeopled town; but the letter to Mrs. Gisborne from this its very peace suited Shelley. Its river, house, which was hers: he had made the near mountains, and not distant sea, his study of the workshop of her son, added to its attractions, and were the who was an engineer. Mrs. Gisborne objects of many delightful excursions. had been a friend of my father in her We feared the south of Italy, and a younger days. She was a lady of great hotter climate, on account of our child; passionately fond of travelling. But human life, besides its great unalterable necessities, is ruled by a thousand lilliputian ties that shackle at the time, although it is difficult to account afterwards for their influence over our our former bereavement inspiring us POEMS WRITTEN IN 1821 DIRGE FOR THE YEAR [Published by Mrs. Shelley, Posthumous Poems, 1824, and dated [Published by Mrs. Shelley, Posthumous Poems, 1824. in the Harvard MS. Book.] There is a transcript II Kiss her until she be wearied out, and Swift be thy flight! land, wand thine opiate Come, long-sought! To Night- o'er Harvard MS.; over edd. 1824, 1839. [Published by Mrs. Shelley, Posthumous Poems, 1824.] And sick of prey, yet howling on for more, LINES [Published by Mrs. Shelley, Posthumous Poems, 1824.] I FAR, far away, O ye II 35 པ་ 10 10 Vultures, who build your bowers High in the Future's towers, Withered hopes on hopes hopes are spread! 5 Dying joys, choked by the dead, Will serve your beaks for prey Many a day. FROM THE ARABIC: AN IMITATION [Published by Mrs. Shelley, Posthumous Poems, 1824. There is an intermediate draft amongst the Bodleian MSS. See Locock, Examination, &c., 1903, p. 13.] I My faint spirit was sitting in the light Of thy looks, my love; It panted for thee like the hind at noon Thy barb whose hoofs outspeed the tempest's flight My heart, for my weak feet were weary soon, Did companion thee. II Ah! fleeter far than fleetest storm or steed. Or the death they bear, The heart which tender thought clothes like a dove In the battle, in the darkness, in the need, Shall mine cling to thee, Nor claim one smile for all the comfort, love, TO EMILIA VIVIANI [Published, i. by Mrs. Shelley, Posthumous Poems, 1824; ii. 1 by Dr. Garnett, Relics of Shelley, 1862; ii. 2, 3 by H. Buxton Forman, P. W. of P. B. S., 1876.] I MADONNA, wherefore hast thou sent to me Embleming love and health, which never yet Alas, and they are wet! Is it with thy kisses or thy tears? For never rain or dew Such fragrance drew From plant or flower-the very doubt endears My sadness ever new, The sighs I breathe, the tears I shed for thee. II Send the stars light, but send not love to me, Health like a heap of embers soon to fade- THE FUGITIVES [Published by Mrs. Shelley, Posthumous Poems, 1824.] 5 10 15 20 |