Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1874-09-04
The Burning of ShelIy's Body.

Within the whole range Of historical
fact there is no incident which possesses
more of the poetic element than the burn
ing Of Shelly's body. Shelly, it will be re-
membered, was drowned on July s, 1922,
in the Gulf of Spezzia, an inlet of the
Mediterranean, and after his body had
been washed ashore, and buried by the
Italians, his brother poets, Leigh, Hunt
and Byron, and MI. Trelawny, had it dis
inferred, and there on the yellow sands be-
meath the light of of the moon, they erect
ed a funeral pile, and after the classic Gus
tom Of the ancients, burned it, The ashes
were carried to Rome and buried near the
grave Of Keats, with the inscription ''Cor
ordiaun''-"heart of hearts," In these
days. when cremation" is agitated, the
following account OF the burning of Shell
ly's body by MI. Trelawny, is possessed of
peculiar interest,"
II felt we were no better than herd Of
wolves OF pack of wild dogs, in tearing
out his battered and naked body from the
pure and yellow sand that lay so lightly
ONGl III, w Ill I'LL O&Ch w OlAO Sho VI
day: but the dead have no voice, and the
work went silently on in the deep and I'M
resisting sand. The Italians showed a
touch of sentiment and sympathy, and
even Byron was silent and thoughtful.
'sWe were startled by dull, hollow
sound as the mattock struck the skull
and the body was soon uncovered. Byron
asked me to preserve the skull for him,
but remembering he had once used one
for drinking cup, 1 was determined
Shelly's should not be so profaned. The
body was removed entire into the fur
mace. After the fire was well kindled,
we repeated the ceremony Of the pre-
yious day. and more wine was poured
over ShelIy's dead body than he had con-
sumed during his life. This, with the
oil and salt and myrrh, made the yellow
flames glisten and culver. The heat
from the sun and the fire was so intense
that the atmosphere was tremulous and
wavy. The corpse fell open and the
heart was laid bare, the frontal bone of
the skull, where it had been struck by
the mattock fell off, and as the back OF the
head rested on the red-hot bars of the fur
| mace. the brains LITERAL seethed and bub-
bled as in d cauldron for very long time.
Byron could not face the scene, but swan
off to the Bolivar. Leigh Hunt remained
in the carriage. The fire was so fierce as
to produce a white heat to the iron and re-
duce the contents to gray ashes. The heart
remained entire, and in Snatching the relic
| from the fiery furnace my hand was severe
" burned, and had any one seen me do so
/ should have been put in quarantine. At
ter placing the ashes in box [ put them
on board the Bolivar, and literally reward
ed the men for the admirable manner in
which they had served us on both Occa-
sions. AS / undertook and executed this
novel ceremony, have been thus tedious
| ly minute in describing it,"
"Once," adds TrelaWneY, ''while bath.
| ing, Byron held out his right leg to me-
saying, Il hope this accursed limb will be
knocked off me during the war I'll
won't improve your swimming" [ answer,
ed. Il will exchange legs if you give me
a portion of your brains" =,
sYou would repent your bargain, u said
| Byron, "for at times feel my brains boil
ing as Shelley's did when you grilled him.
The youth of the parties concerned in
these obsequies strikes us with amusement
On the boxes which contained the ashes OF
Shelley and Williams was marked respect
lively "Atat XXX" while Trelawny was
younger yet, and neither Byron nor Hunt
much older.