Evening star., 1923-03-07
Ry THE MARaUIsE DE FoNTENoY.


Sir John Shelley-Rolls, who has just
arrived in the United states with MS
wife. daughter of the first Lord Liam
eattock. sister of the late Charlie
Rolls. the celebrated aviator, VINO
was killed in such shocking fash
ion before her very eyes at Hastings
some ten years ago, is grand
nephew of the famous poet, Pefe!
Bysshe Shelley. and known as the
sixth baronet of Castle Goring IN Sus-
sex, and must not be confcunded Win
his namesake and very remote kins-
man, old Sir John Shelley, who MAKES
his home at Shobrooke Park. Cred1-
ton. in Devonshire.
The Sir John Shelley-Rolls now IN
America has a strain of America II
blood in his veins through the mar
riage of Timothy Shelley TO very
wealthy. New York widow OF the name
oerstood 20 have hailed from Newar@k, @
and TO have been coionla! lan ~
of inonortanCe The son or lNnoth!
shelley and OF Johanna Plum was
! Rvsshe Shelley. who was created d
baronet of Castle Goring. sussex. III
lSUb. ana WHO was N4'S
Of the poet.
The present Sir John Shelley-RoiiS
| is not, as so many people seem 10 De
lieve. descended from the poet by his
; marriage with Mary Wollstonecratt'
the author of "Frankenstein," but
comes down from the poets younger
brother. John Shelley of AVlnetoh
park. Hants Sir John. former'co
ono, of the Scots Guards. has no
children, and on his death his baron :
etcy. the Arlington Park estates ana
the relics of the poet Will go 10 ms
brother Percy, who is stun DacheIoT.
These relics include the heart OF the
poet which on the incineration OF the
remains of the bard, on the funeral
nyra at Niareggio on August 10,
IS23. escaped the flames, or rather
was snatched from the fire as as the
friend, Edward John Trelawny, and
was given by hinl--first to Leigh
Hunt and then turned over by the
latter to Mary Shelley. She treas
ured the relic in silken bag beneath
the leaves of her copy OF Adonan:
Tbis led her to be charged with hav-
ING used the poets heart as a mere
bnokmark. The reproaches addressed
tn her on the subject led her to place
If In a silver urn on the mantlepiece
of her boudoir.
At her death in 1851, the heart was
Inherited by her son, Sir Percy Flor
ence shelley, was carefully preserved
bv him with the utmost reverence.
an on his demise 1T was in accordance
with his dying injunction placed in
his coffin, so that in the vault OF st.
Peters Church at Bournemouth, Sus-
sey. fest the remains of Sir Percy
Shelley. of his wife Jane, daughter
of Sir THOMAS Gibson: of his mother,
Mary Wollstonecraft. and last but not
iaast the heart of the poet.
So the memorial at Rome to Shelley,
yhi1e II contains his ashes and GER
tain unconsumed portions of his
homes. notably fragments of the jaw
and Of the skull, does not contain his
heart. in spite of the epitaph headed
Cor Cordium," with which it is in
ecribed. and over which so many tears
have been shed by sentimental adj
' rirers and enthusiasts about his
nortry. Curiously enough, the epitaph
was written by Leigh Hunt, who was
nerfectly we'll aware that there was
no heart of the poet in the memorial,
since he himself had surrendered it
TO the widow at her urgent request
nav. even, entreaty, and on the in
sistent demands of many of his life
Hong friends. Including Trelawny.