Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-03-07
PERCY BXssHE SHELLEY.

The lie Of Shelley has never been
written. When, after the death Of her
husband, Mrs. Shelley returned from
Italy to England. she desired, first Of
all, to write his biography as she could
have written it. But she found herself
and her only child, son, completely IN
the power Of Sir Timothy Shelley. the
brother Of the poets father, who had
inherited the estates and title Of the
barouetey. This baronet had also in
herited all the moroseness and narrow
ness Of his elder brother, and he for
bade Mrs. Shelley not only the writing
Of her husbands memoir, but even any
book at all, threatening, if she did so,
20 81 stop the supplies" These supplies
consisted of an annual loan-not q gift
which he supplied to Mrs. Shelley on
the faith Of her expected reversi0n /; and
all these loans were repaid, Sir Timothy
having unhesitatingly received them.
1t was struggle with the poor widow
between her duty to the memory Of
Shelley and that toward her son, whose
welfare and education imperatively de-
manded the annual loan and the result
Is, we have to thank the erabbid old
baronet not only for our want Of real
biography, but also for the silence Of
the authoress of s. Frankenstein' at the
period Of the ripeness Of her genius.
After Sir Timothys death the present
SIR Percy Shelley, the poets son, and his
wife, fixed upon Mr. Thomas Jefferson
Hogg as the most proper person to
write the poets life, and the selection
was certainly good one.
When the whole Of the voluminous
letters and papers connected with Shell
ley we're placed in the hands of Hogg
be went heartily to work, with the SIN
gle aim Of presenting to the world the
poet and the man as he was, and the
result of such a course was not surpris-
ing. In the first two volumes, which
covered about half Of the poets life,
such a free use had been made Of the
materials, and 50 little caution observed
toward the living, that a swarm Of hOr-
nets soon came raging about Hogs
head. Impaled tutors and professors
who had ground Shelley under their
dullness, men who had sDubbed him,
connections who had given him cold
shoulders, all were now furious when,
under the pen-wand Of the remOrseless
Hogg, the ghosts Of their unkindnesses
to one whom all were mourning returned
to haunt them. Of course the arm Of
Hogg must be held from further
mischief, and so Lady Shelley, who
more than Sir Percy, had controlled the
matter, withdrew the papers, aud so the
real story about Shelley remains but
half told. Lady Shelley then sent for
Leigh Hunt-then an old man-and
after consultation she entered upon her
4" Memorials" which is certainly a we'll
written and valuable work, but by no
means tells the whole story we wish to
know. Medwin's "Life Of Shelley,
Middleton's Shelley and his Writings,
are also valuable as contributions and
rich glimpses Of the poet are obtained
through Leigh Hunts COrresPOn-
denee" and Trelawney's "RoeolleeetiOns
Of the last Days Of Shelley and Byron.
Fragments all bat vas not Shelley ;
life itself a series Of fragments, which
Fate never permitted even to be Pieeed
together into the grand mosaic which
each suggested IN R. CoH1gay iR
! Hagper's Hagdziae.