The Life and Letters of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Volume I Part 23

_Friday, February 2._--Read Greek. Write. Emilia Viviani walks out with Sh.e.l.ley. The Opera, with the Williams' (_Il Matrimonio Segreto_).

_Tuesday, February 6._--Read Greek. Sit to Williams. Call on Emilia Viviani. Prince Mavrocordato in the evening. A long metaphysical argument.

_Wednesday, February 7._--Read Greek. Sit to Williams. In the evening the Williams', Prince Mavrocordato, and Mr. Taafe.

_Monday, February 12._--Read Greek (no lesson). Finish the _Vita Nuova_. In the afternoon call on Emilia Viviani. Walk. Mr. Taafe calls.

_Thursday, February 27._--Read Greek. The Williams to dine with us.

Walk with them. Il Diavolo Pacchiani calls. Sh.e.l.ley reads "The Ancient Mariner" aloud.

_Sat.u.r.day, March 4._--Read Greek (no lesson). Walk with the Williams'.

Read Horace with Sh.e.l.ley in the evening. A delightful day.

_Sunday, March 5._--Read Greek. Write letters. The Williams' to dine with us. Walk with them. Williams relates his history. They spend the evening with us, with Prince Mavrocordato and Mr. Taafe.

_Thursday, March 8._--Read Greek (no lesson). Call on Emilia Viviani.

E. Williams calls. Sh.e.l.ley reads _The Case is Altered_ of Ben Jonson aloud in the evening. A mizzling day and rainy night.... March winds and rains are begun, the last puff of winter's breath,--the eldest tears of a coming spring; she ever comes in weeping and goes out smiling.

_Monday, March 12._--Read Greek (no lesson). Finish the _Defence of Poetry_. Copy for Sh.e.l.ley; he reads to me the _Tale of a Tub_. A delightful day after a misty morning.

_Wednesday, March 14._--Read Greek (no lesson). Copy for Sh.e.l.ley. Walk with Williams. Prince Mavrocordato in the evening. I have an interesting conversation with him concerning Greece. The second bulletin of the Austrians published. A sirocco, but a pleasant evening,

_Friday, March 16._--Read Greek. Copy for Sh.e.l.ley. Walk with Williams.

Mrs. Williams confined. News of the Revolution of Piedmont, and the taking of the citadel of Candia by the Greeks. A beautiful day, but not hot.

_Sunday, March 18._--Read Greek. Copy for Sh.e.l.ley. A sirocco and mizzle. Bad news from Naples. Walk with Williams. Prince Mavrocordato in the evening.

_Monday, March 26._--Read Greek. Alex. Mavrocordato. Finish the _Antigone_. A mizzling day. Spend the evening at the Williams'.

_Wednesday, March 28._--Read Greek. Alex. Mavrocordato. Call on Emilia Viviani. Walk with Williams. Mr. Taafe in the evening. A fine day, though changeful as to clouds and wind. The State of Ma.s.sa declares the Const.i.tution. The Piedmontese troops are at Sarzana.

_Sunday, April 1._--Read Greek. Alex. Mavrocordato calls with news about Greece. He is as gay as a caged eagle just free. Call on Emilia Viviani. Walk with Williams; he spends the evening with us.

_Monday, April 2._--Read Greek. Alex. Mavrocordato calls with the proclamation of Ipsilanti. Write to him. Ride with Sh.e.l.ley into the Cascini. A divine day, with a north-west wind. The theatre in the evening. Tachinardi.

_Wednesday, April 11._--Read Greek, and _Osservatore Fiorentino_. A letter that overturns us.[40] Walk with Sh.e.l.ley. In the evening Williams and Alex. Mavrocordato.

_Friday, April 13._--Read Greek. Alex. Mavrocordato calls.

_Osservatore Fiorentino_. Walk with the Williams'. Sh.e.l.ley at Casa Silva in the evening. An explanation of our difficulty.

_Monday, April 16._--Write. Targioni. Read Greek. Mrs. Williams to dinner. In the evening Mr. Taafe. A wet morning: in the afternoon a fierce maestrale. Sh.e.l.ley, Williams, and Henry Reveley try to come up the ca.n.a.l to Pisa; miss their way, are capsized, and sleep at a contadino's.

_Tuesday, April 24._--Read Greek. Alex. Mavrocordato. Hume. Villani.

Walk with the Williams'. Alex. M. calls in the evening, with good news from Greece. The Morea free.

They now migrated once more to the beautiful neighbourhood of the Baths of San Giuliano di Pisa; the Williams' established themselves at Pugnano, only four miles off: the ca.n.a.l fed by the Serchio ran between the two places, and the little boat was in constant requisition.

Our boat is asleep on Serchio's stream, Its sails are folded like thoughts in a dream, The helm sways idly, hither and thither; Dominic, the boatman, has brought the mast, And the oars, and the sails; but 'tis sleeping fast, Like a beast, unconscious of its tether.[41]

The ca.n.a.l which, fed by the Serchio, was, though an artificial, a full and picturesque stream, making its way under verdant banks, sheltered by trees that dipped their boughs into the murmuring waters. By day, mult.i.tudes of ephemera darted to and fro on the surface; at night, the fireflies came out among the shrubs on the banks; the _cicale_, at noonday, kept up their hum; the aziola cooed in the quiet evening. It was a pleasant summer, bright in all but Sh.e.l.ley's health and inconstant spirits; yet he enjoyed himself greatly, and became more and more attached to the part of the country where chance appeared to cast us. Sometimes he projected taking a farm, situated on the height of one of the near hills, surrounded by chestnut and pine woods and overlooking a wide extent of country; or of settling still further in the maritime Apennines, at Ma.s.sa. Several of his slighter and unfinished poems were inspired by these scenes, and by the companions around us. It is the nature of that poetry, however, which overflows from the soul, oftener to express sorrow and regret than joy; for it is when oppressed by the weight of life and away from those he loves, that the poet has recourse to the solace of expression in verse.[42]

_Journal, Thursday, May 3._--Read Villani. Go out in boat; call on Emilia Viviani. Walk with Sh.e.l.ley. In the evening Alex. Mavrocordato, Henry Reveley, Dancelli, and Mr. Taafe.

_Friday, May 4._--Read Greek. (Alex. M.) Read Villani. Sh.e.l.ley goes to Leghorn by sea with Henry Reveley.

_Tuesday, May 8._--Packing. Read Greek (Alex. Mavrocordato). Sh.e.l.ley goes to Leghorn. In the evening walk with Alex. M. to Pugnano. See the Williams; return to the Baths. Sh.e.l.ley and Henry Reveley come. The weather quite April; rain and sunshine, and by no means warm.

_Sat.u.r.day, June 23._--Abominably cold weather--rain, wind, and cloud--quite an Italian November or a Scotch May. Sh.e.l.ley and Williams go to Leghorn. Write. Read and finish Malthus. Begin the answer.[43]

Jane (Williams) spends the day here, and Edward returns in the evening. Read Greek.

_Sunday, June 24._--Write. Read the _Answer to Malthus_. Finish it.

Sh.e.l.ley at Leghorn.

_Monday, June 25._--Little babe not well. Sh.e.l.ley returns. The Williams call. Read old plays. Vacca calls.

_Tuesday, June 26._--Babe well. Write. Read Greek. Sh.e.l.ley not well.

Mr. Taafe and Granger dine with us. Walk with Sh.e.l.ley. Vacca calls.

Alex. Mavrocordato sails.

_Thursday, June 28._--Write. Read Greek. Read Mackenzie's works. Go to Pugnano in the boat. The warmest day this month. Fireflies in the evening.

They were near enough to Pisa to go over there from time to time to see Emilia and other friends, and for Prince Mavrocordato to come frequently and give them the latest political news: the Greek lessons had been voluntarily abjured by Mary when it seemed probable that the Prince might be summoned at any moment to play an active part in the affairs of his country, as actually happened in June. Sh.e.l.ley was still tormented by the pain in his side, but his health and spirits were insensibly improving, as he himself afterwards admitted. He was occupied in writing _h.e.l.las_; his elegy on Keats's death, _Adonais_ also belongs to this time. Ned Williams, infected by the surrounding atmosphere of literature, had tried his 'prentice hand on a drama. In the words of his own journal--

Went in the summer to Pugnano--pa.s.sed the first three months in writing a play ent.i.tled _The Promise, or a year, a month, and a day_.

S. tells me if they accept it he has great hopes of its success before an audience, and his hopes always enliven mine.

Mary was straining every nerve to finish _Valperga_, in the hope of being able to send it to England by the Gisbornes, who were preparing to leave Italy,--a hope, however, which was not fulfilled.

MARY TO MRS. GISBORNE.

BATHS OF S. GIULIANO, _30th June 1821_.

MY DEAR MRS. GISBORNE--Well, how do you get on? Mr. Gisborne says nothing of that in the note which he wrote yesterday, and it is that in which I am most interested.

I pity you exceedingly in all the disagreeable details to which you are obliged to sacrifice your time and attention. I can conceive no employment more tedious; but now I hope it is nearly over, and that as the fruit of its conclusion you will soon come to see us. Sh.e.l.ley is far from well; he suffers from his side and nervous irritation. The day on which he returned from Leghorn he found little Percy ill of a fever produced by teething. He got well the next day, but it was so strong while it lasted that it frightened us greatly. You know how much reason we have to fear the deceitful appearance of perfect health. You see that this, your last summer in Italy, is manufactured on purpose to accustom you to the English seasons.

It is warmer now, but we still enjoy the delight of cloudy skies. The "Creator" has not yet made himself heard. I get on with my occupation, and hope to finish the rough transcript this month. I shall then give about a month to corrections, and then I shall transcribe it. It has indeed been a child of mighty slow growth since I first thought of it in our library at Marlow. I then wanted the body in which I might embody my spirit. The materials for this I found at Naples, but I wanted other books. Nor did I begin it till a year afterwards at Pisa; it was again suspended during our stay at your house, and continued again at the Baths. All the winter I did not touch it, but now it is in a state of great forwardness, since I am at page 71 of the third volume. It has indeed been a work of some labour, since I have read and consulted a great many books. I shall be very glad to read the first volume to you, that you may give me your opinion as to the conduct and interest of the story. June is now at its last gasp. You talked of going in August, I hope therefore that we may soon expect you. Have you heard anything concerning the inhabitants of Skinner Street? It is now many months since I received a letter, and I begin to grow alarmed. Adieu.--Ever sincerely yours,

MARY W. S.

On the 26th of July the Gisbornes came to pay their friends a short farewell visit; on the 29th they started for England; Sh.e.l.ley going with them as far as Florence, where he and Mary thought again of settling for the winter, and where he wished to make inquiries about houses. During his few days' absence the Williams' were almost constantly with Mary. Edward Williams was busy painting a portrait of her in miniature, intended by her as a surprise for Sh.e.l.ley on his birthday, the 4th of August. But when that day arrived Sh.e.l.ley was unavoidably absent. On his return to the Baths he had found a letter from Lord Byron, with a pressing invitation to visit him at Ravenna, whence Byron was on the point of departing to join Countess Guiccioli and her family, who had been exiled from the Roman States for Carbonarism, and who, for the present, had taken refuge at Florence.

Sh.e.l.ley's thoughts turned at once, as they could not but do, to poor little Allegra, in her convent of Bagnacavallo. What was to become of her?

Where would or could she be sent? or was she to be conveniently forgotten and left behind? He was off next day, the 3d; paid a flying visit to Clare, who was staying for her health at Leghorn, and arrived at Ravenna on the 6th.

The miniature was finished and ready for him on his birthday. Mary, alone on that anniversary, was fain to look back over the past eventful seven years,--their joys, their sorrows, their many changes. Not long before, she had said, in a letter to Clare, "One is not gay, at least I am not, but peaceful, and at peace with all the world." The same tone characterises the entry in her journal for 4th August.

Sh.e.l.ley's birthday. Seven years are now gone; what changes! what a life! We now appear tranquil, yet who knows what wind----but I will not prognosticate evil; we have had enough of it. When Sh.e.l.ley came to Italy I said, all is well, if it were permanent; it was more pa.s.sing than an Italian twilight. I now say the same. May it be a Polar day, yet that, too, has an end.