Material from the Romantic Circles Website may not be downloaded, reproduced or disseminated in any manner without authorization unless it is for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, and/or classroom use as provided by the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended.
Unless otherwise noted, all Pages and Resources mounted on Romantic Circles are copyrighted by the author/editor and may be shared only in accordance with the Fair Use provisions of U.S. copyright law. Except as expressly permitted by this statement, redistribution or republication in any medium requires express prior written consent from the author/editors and advance notification of Romantic Circles. Any requests for authorization should be forwarded to Romantic Circles:>
By their use of these texts and images, users agree to the following conditions:
Users are not permitted to download these texts and images in order to mount them on their own servers. It is not in our interest or that of our users to have uncontrolled subsets of our holdings available elsewhere on the Internet. We make corrections and additions to our edited resources on a continual basis, and we want the most current text to be the only one generally available to all Internet users. Institutions can, of course, make a link to the copies at Romantic Circles, subject to our conditions of use.
All quotation marks and apostrophes have been changed: " for “," for ”, ' for ‘, and ' for ’.
Any dashes occurring in line breaks have been removed.
Because of web browser variability, all hyphens have been typed on the U.S. keyboard
Em-dashes have been rendered as #8212
Spelling has not been regularized.
Writing in other hands appearing on these manuscripts has been indicated as such, the content recorded in brackets.
& has been used for the ampersand sign.
£ has been used for £, the pound sign
All other characters, those with accents, non-breaking spaces, etc., have been encoded in HTML entity decimals.
THE next day Lord Raymond called at Perdita's
cottage, on his way to Windsor Castle.
At the present time Raymond evidently wished to appear amiable. Wit,
hilarity, and deep observation were mingled in his talk, rendering every
sentence that he uttered as a flash of light. He soon conquered my latent
distaste; I endeavoured to watch him and Perdita, and to keep in mind every
thing I had heard to his disadvantage. But all appeared so ingenuous, and
all was so fascinating, that I forgot everything except the pleasure his
society afforded me. Under the idea of initiating me in the
Raymond replied; but there was nothing
Some reflection seemed to sting him, and the spasm of pain that for a moment
convulsed his countenance, checked my indignation. "Happy are dreamers," he
continued, "so that they be not awakened! Would I could dream! but 'broad
and garish day'
This account may be taken as a sample of
My descent, which claimed interest, if not respect, my former connection with
Adrian, the favour of the ambassador, whose secretary I had been, and now my
intimacy with Lord Raymond, gave me easy access to the fashionable and
political circles of England. To my inexperience we at first appeared on the
eve of a civil war; each party was violent, acrimonious, and unyielding.
Parliament was divided by three factions, aristocrats, democrats, and
royalists. After Adrian's declared predeliction to the republican form of
government, the latter party had nearly died away, chiefless, guide-
I could not but perceive that Perdita loved Raymond; methought also that he regarded the fair daughter of Verney with admiration and tenderness. Yet I knew that he was urging forward his marriage with the presumptive heiress of the Earldom of Windsor, with keen expectation of the advantages that would thence accrue to him. All the ex-queen's friends were his friends; no week passed that he did not hold consultations with her at Windsor.
I had never seen the sister of Adrian. I had heard that she was lovely,
amiable, and fascinating. Wherefore should I see her? There are times when
we have an indefinable sentiment of impending change for better or for from Lempriere's
Icarus, a son of Daedalus, who with his father fled with wings from Crete to escape the resentment of Minos. His flight being too high proved fatal to him, and the sun melted the wax which cemented his wings and he fell into that part of the Aegean sea which is called after his name.
One day, several months after my return to England, I quitted London to visit
my sister. Her society was my chief solace and delight; and my spirits
always rose at the expectation of seeing her. Her conversation was full of
pointed remark and discernment; in her pleasant alcove, redolent with
sweetest flowers, adorned by magnificent casts, antique vases, and copies of
the finest pictures of Raphael, Raphael's painting of the Transfiguration (at the Vatican
Museum, pictured here), was described by Mary Shelley in her
"In artistic power, this picture is said to surpass every other in the world. The genius of its author is shown in its admirable composition, in the spirit of the attitudes, in the life that animates each figure, without alluding to technical merits, which, of course, are felt even by those who cannot define, nor even point them out. Yet, this picture does not afford me great pleasure--no face is inspired by holy and absorbing passion; and the woman, the most prominent figure, is a portrait of the Fornarina, whose hard countenance is peculiarly odious."
The painting was in fact copied in a mosaic altarpiece at the Capella Clementia, St. Peter's, Rome.
Correggio, and Claude, painted by herself, I fancied myself in a fairy retreat untainted by and inaccessible to the noisy contentions of politicians and the frivolous pursuits of fashion. On this occasion, my sister was not alone; nor could I fail to recognise her companion: it was Idris, the till now unseen object of my mad idolatry.In what fitting terms of wonder and delight, in what choice expression and
soft flow of language, can I usher in the loveliest, wisest, best? How in
poor assemblage of words convey the
(Wordsworth, "She dwelt among th' untrodded ways," untitled in
Such a violet was sweet Perdita, trembling to entrust herself to the very air, cowering from observation, yet betrayed by her excellences; and repaying with a thousand graces the labour of those who sought her in her lonely bye-path. Idris was as the star, set in single splendour in the dim anadem of balmy evening; ready to enlighten and delight the subject world, shielded herself from every taint by her unimagined distance from all that was not like herself akin to heaven.
I found this vision of beauty in Perdita's alcove, in earnest conversation with its inmate. When my sister saw me, she rose, and taking my hand, said, "He is here, even at our wish; this is Lionel, my brother."
Idris arose also, and bent on me her eyes of celestial blue, and with grace peculiar said--"You hardly need an introduction; we have a picture, highly valued by my father, which declares at once your name. Verney, you will acknowledge this tie, and as my brother's friend, I feel that I may trust you."
Then, with lids humid with a tear and trembling voice, she continued--"Dear
friends, do not think it strange that now, visiting you for the first time,
I ask your assistance, and confide my wishes and fears to you. To you alone
do I dare speak; I have heard you commended by impartial spectators; you are
my brother's friends, therefore you must be mine. What can I say? if you
refuse to aid me, I am lost indeed!" She cast up her eyes, while wonder held
her auditors mute; then, as if carried away by her feelings, she cried--"My
brother! beloved, ill-fated Adrian! how speak of your misfortunes? Doubtless
you have both heard the current tale; perhaps believe the slander;
Her earnest appeal, so sweetly and passionately expressed, filled me with
wonder and sympathy; and, when she added, with thrilling voice and look, "Do
you consent to undertake this enterprize?" I vowed, with energy and truth,
to devote myself in life and death to the restoration and welfare of Adrian.
We then conversed on the plan I should pursue, and discussed the probable
means of discovering his residence. While we were in earnest discourse, Lord
Raymond entered unannounced: I saw Perdita tremble and grow deadly pale, and
the cheeks of Idris glow with purest blushes. He must have been astonished
at our conclave, dis-
Smiling haughtily, he bent his head, and replied, with emphasis, "Do you indeed confide, Lady Idris?"
She endeavoured to read his thought, and then answered with dignity, "As you please. It is certainly best not to compromise oneself by any concealment."
"Pardon me," he replied, "if I have offended. Whether you trust me or not, rely on my doing my utmost to further your wishes, whatever they may be."
Idris smiled her thanks, and rose to take leave. Lord Raymond requested
permission to accompany her to Windsor Castle,
She spoke falteringly, and concluded with a heavy sigh. I gave my assent to
her request; and she left me. I felt as if, from the order of the systematic
world, I had plunged into chaos, obscure, contrary, unintelligible. That
Raymond should marry Idris was more than ever intolerable; yet my passion,
though a giant from its birth, was too strange, wild, and impracticable, for
me to feel at once the misery I perceived in Perdita. How should I act? She
had not confided in me; I could not demand an explanation from Raymond
without the hazard of betraying what was perhaps her most treasured secret.
I would obtain the truth from her the following day--in the mean time--
Ryland Most critics have
agreed that the character of Ryland is based at least in part on
William Cobbett (1763?-1835), the journalist and popular political
reformer. His
A model close at hand (and in the press) for Shelley's fictional demagogue, he conducted failed political campaigns in both 1820 and 1826, and was elected to parliament only after the Reform Bill of 1832. During the time
Raymond asked me if I would accompany him to the House
I was hurt by the careless tone with which he conveyed this information, and replied coldly: "I am obliged to you for your intelligence, and will avail myself of it."
"You shall, Verney," said he, "and if you continue of the same mind, I will
facilitate your views. But first witness, I beseech you, the result of this
night's contest, and the triumph I am about to achieve, if I may so call it,
while I fear that victory is to me defeat. What can
He stopped abruptly, his countenance darkened, and its expression changed again and again under the influence of internal passion. I asked, "Does Lady Idris love you?"
"What a question," replied he laughing. "She will of course, as I shall her, when we are married."
"You begin late," said I, ironically, "mar-
"Do not catechise me, Lionel; I will do my duty by her, be assured. Love! I
must steel my heart against
He bent his keen eyes upon me, and my uncontrollable heart swelled in my
bosom. I re-
"Because you love her yourself."
"Your Lordship might have spared that taunt; I do not, dare not love her. "
"At least," he continued haughtily, "she does not love you. I would not marry a reigning sovereign, were I not sure that her heart was free. But, O, Lionel! a kingdom is a word of might, and gently sounding are the terms that compose the style of royalty. Were not the mightiest men of the olden times kings? Alexander was a king; Solomon, the wisest of men, was a king; Napoleon was a king; Caesar died in his attempt to become one, and Cromwell, the puritan and king-killer, aspired to regality. The father of Adrian yielded up the already broken sceptre of England; but I will rear the fallen plant, join its dismembered frame, and exalt it above all the flowers of the field.
"You need not wonder that I freely discover Adrian's abode. Do not suppose that I am wicked or foolish enough to found my purposed sovereignty on a fraud, and one so easily discovered as the truth or falsehood of the Earl's insanity. I am just come from him. Before I decided on my marriage with Idris, I resolved to see him myself again, and to judge of the probability of his recovery.--He is irrecoverably mad."
I gasped for breath--
"I will not detail to you," continued Raymond, "the melancholy particulars. You shall see him, and judge for yourself; although I fear this visit, useless to him, will be insufferably painful to you. It has weighed on my spirits ever since. Excellent and gentle as he is even in the downfall of his reason, I do not worship him as you do, but I would give all my hopes of a crown and my right hand to boot, to see him restored to himself."
His voice expressed the deepest compassion: "Thou most unaccountable being,"
I cried,
"Whither indeed? To a crown, a golden be-gemmed
"And what is that?"
"If I do make it my choice, then you shall know; at present I dare not speak, even think of it."
Again he was silent, and after a pause turned to me laughingly. When scorn
did not inspire his mirth, when it was genuine gaiety that painted his
features with a joyous expression, his beauty became super-eminent, divine.
"Verney," said he, "my first act when I become King of England, will be to
unite with the Greeks, take Constantinople,
I listened to Raymond with intense interest. Could I be other than all ear,
to one who seemed to govern the whole earth in his grasping imagination, and
who only quailed when he attempted to rule himself. Then on his word and
will depended my own happiness--the fate of all dear to me. I endeavoured to
divine the concealed meaning of his words. Perdita's name was not mentioned;
yet I could not doubt that love for her caused the vacillation of purpose
that he exhibited. And who was so worthy of love as my noble-minded sister?
Who deserved the hand of this self-exalted king more than she whose glance
belonged to a queen of nations? who loved him, as he did her;
We went together to the House in the evening.
When Raymond entered the coffee-room, his presence was hailed by his friends
almost with a shout. They gathered round him, counted their numbers, and
detailed the reasons why they were now to receive an addition of such and
such members, who had not yet declared themselves. Some trifling business of
the House having been gone through, the leaders took their seats in the
chamber; the clamour of voices continued, till Ryland arose to speak, and
then the slightest whispered observation was audible. All eyes were fixed
upon him as he stood--ponderous of frame, sonorous of voice, and with a
manner which, though not graceful, was impressive. I turned from his marked,
iron countenance to Raymond, whose face, veiled by a smile, would not betray
his care; yet his lips
Ryland began by praising the present state of the British empire. He recalled
past years to their memory; the miserable contentions which in the time of
our fathers arose almost to civil war, the abdication of the late king, and
the foundation of the republic. He described this republic; shewed how it
gave privilege to each individual in the state, to rise to consequence, and
even to temporary sovereignty. He compared the royal and republican spirit;
shewed how the one tended to enslave the minds of men; while all the
institutions of the other served to raise even the meanest among us to
something great and good. He shewed how England had become powerful, and its
inhabitants valiant and wise, by means of the freedom they enjoyed. As he
spoke, every heart swelled with pride, and every cheek glowed with delight
to remember, that each one there was English,
After his motion had been seconded, Lord Raymond rose,--his countenance
bland, his voice softly melodious, his manner soothing, his grace and
sweetness came like the mild breathing of a flute, after the loud,
organ-like voice of his adversary. He rose, he said, to speak in favour of
the honourable member's motion, with one slight amendment subjoined. He was
ready to go back to old times, and commemorate the contests of our fathers,
and the monarch's abdication. Nobly and greatly, he said, had the
illustrious and last sovereign of England sacrificed himself to the apparent
good of his coun-
Nor did Raymond make an end without drawing in vivid and glowing colours, the
splendour of a kingdom, in opposition to the commercial spirit of
republicanism. He asserted, that each individual under the English monarchy,
was then as now, capable of attaining high rank and power--with one only
exception, that of the function of chief magistrate; higher and nobler rank,
than a bartering, timorous commonwealth could afford. And for this one
exception, to what did it amount? The nature of riches and influence
forcibly confined the list of candidates to a few of the wealthiest; and it
was much to be feared, that the ill-humour and contention generated by this
triennial struggle, would counterbalance its advantages in impartial eyes. I
can ill record the flow of language and graceful turns of expression, the
wit and easy raillery that gave vigour and influence to his speech. His
manner, timid at first, became firm--his changeful face was lit
It were useless to record the debate that followed this harangue. Party speeches were delivered, which clothed the question in cant, and veiled its simple meaning in a woven wind of words. The motion was lost; Ryland withdrew in rage and despair; and Raymond, gay and exulting, retired to dream of his future kingdom.