Went to a sofa, and lay down, and slept A heavy sleep, and in his dreams he wept, And muttered some familiar name, and we Wept without shame in his society.
I think I never was impressed so much;
The man who were not must have lacked a
Of human nature. Then we lingered not, Although our argument was quite forgot; But, calling the attendants, went to dine At Maddalo's; yet neither cheer nor wine Could give us spirits, for we talked of him And nothing else, till daylight made stars dim; And we agreed his was some dreadful ill Wrought on him boldly, yet unspeakable, By a dear friend; some deadly change in love Of one vowed deeply, which he dreamed not of; For whose sake he, it seemed, had fixed a blot Of falsehood on his mind which flourished not But in the light of all-beholding truth; And having stamped this canker on his youth She had abandoned him—and how much more Might be his woe, we guessed not; he had store Of friends and fortune once, as we could guess From his nice habits and his gentleness; These were now lost it were a grief indeed If he had changed one unsustaining reed For all that such a man might else adorn. The colors of his mind seemed yet unworn;
518 were, Hunt MS., Mrs. Shelley, 1824 || was, Mrs. Shelley, 18391.
525 his, Hunt MS. || it, Mrs. Shelley, 1824.
530 on, Hunt MS. || in, Mrs. Shelley, 1824.
537 were now, Hunt MS. || now were, Mrs. Shelley, 1824.
For the wild language of his grief was high- Such as in measure were called poetry.
And I remember one remark which then Maddalo made. He said "Most wretched men Are cradled into poetry by wrong;
They learn in suffering what they teach in song.”
If I had been an unconnected man,
I, from this moment, should have formed some plan Never to leave sweet Venice, for to me It was delight to ride by the lone sea; And then the town is silent one may Or read in gondolas by day or night, Having the little brazen lamp alight, Unseen, uninterrupted; books are there, Pictures, and casts from all those statues fair Which were twin-born with poetry, and all We seek in towns, with little to recall Regrets for the green country. I might sit In Maddalo's great palace, and his wit And subtle talk would cheer the winter night And make me know myself, and the firelight Would flash upon our faces, till the day Might dawn and make me wonder at my stay. But I had friends in London too. The chief Attraction here was that I sought relief
From the deep tenderness that maniac wrought Within me 'twas perhaps an idle thought, But I imagined that if day by day
I watched him, and but seldom went away, And studied all the beatings of his heart
558 regrets, Hunt MS. || regret, Mrs. Shelley, 1824. 569 but, Hunt MS. || omit, Mrs. Shelley, 1824.
With zeal, as men study some stubborn art For their own good, and could by patience find An entrance to the caverns of his mind, I might reclaim him from this dark estate. In friendships I had been most fortunate, Yet never saw I one whom I would call More willingly my friend; and this was all Accomplished not; such dreams of baseless good Oft come and go in crowds and solitude
And leave no trace, but what I now designed Made, for long years, impression on my mind. The following morning, urged by my affairs, I left bright Venice.
And many changes, I returned; the name Of Venice, and its aspect, was the same; But Maddalo was travelling far away Among the mountains of Armenia.
His dog was dead. His child had now become A woman; such as it has been my doom To meet with few, a wonder of this earth, Where there is little of transcendent worth, Like one of Shakespeare's women. Kindly she, And with a manner beyond courtesy,
Received her father's friend; and, when I asked Of the lorn maniac, she her memory tasked, And told, as she had heard, the mournful tale: "That the poor sufferer's health began to fail Two years from my departure, but that then
574 this, Hunt MS. || his, Mrs. Shelley, 1824. 579 crowds and, Hunt MS. || or, Mrs. Shelley, 1824. 584 changes, wanderings, Hunt MS. cancelled.
The lady, who had left him, came again.
Her mien had been imperious, but she now
Looked meek-perhaps remorse had brought her
Her coming made him better, and they stayed Together at my father's for I played
As I remember with the lady's shawl; I might be six years old but after all
She left him.” Why, her heart must have been
How did it end?" "And was not this enough? They met they parted." "Child, is there no
"Something within that interval which bore The stamp of why they parted, how they met ; Yet if thine aged eyes disdain to wet
Those wrinkled cheeks with youth's remembered tears,
Ask me no more, but let the silent years
Be closed and cered over their memory, As yon mute marble where their corpses lie." I urged and questioned still; she told me how All happened - but the cold world shall not know.
611 Yet | But, Hunt MS. cancelled.
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