in an attempt at extreme refinement and analysis, his conceptions might be betrayed into the assuming a morbid character. The reader will judge whether he is a loser or gainer by the difference.'

Mrs. Shelley adds: "The idea Shelley had formed of Prince Athanase was a good deal modelled on Alastor. In the first sketch of the poem, he named it Pandemos and Urania. Athanase seeks through the world the One whom he may love. He meets, in the ship in vhich he is embarked, a lady who appears to aim to embody his ideal of love and beauty. But she proves to be Pandemos, or the earthly and unworthy Venus; who, after disappointing his cherished dreams and hopes, deserts him. Athanase, crushed by sorrow, pines and dies. "On his deathbed, the lady who can really reply to his soul comes and kisses his lips." (The Deathbed of Athanase.) The poet describes her [ii. 155-160]. This slender note is all we have to aid our imagination in shaping out the form of the poem, such as its author imagined.' Date, 1817. Published, Mrs. Shelley, 1824.