Where is the balm can heal! DOUBTFUL POEMS CONTINUED The Dinner Party Anticipated: A Paraphrase of Horace III. 19. This poem was found by Forman among the Hunt MSS. in Mrs. Shelley's handwriting. It was printed in Hunt's Companion, March 26, 1828, without the name of the translator. There is no other evidence that it was written by Shelley, and it is rejected by Dowden. The Magic Horse: Translated from the Italian of Cristofano Bronzino. This poem forms a continuous manuscript with that of the preceding, and is also rejected by Dowden. To the Queen of My Heart. Published by Medwin, the Shelley Papers, 1833, and by Mrs. Shelley, 18391, and also by Forman and Dowden. Mrs. Shelley, 18392, p. 11: “It was suggested that the poem To the Queen of My Heart was falsely attributed to Shelley; and certainly I find no trace of it among his papers; and, as those of his intimate friends whom I have consulted never heard of it, I omit it." Eclectic Review, 1851 (ii.), 66 : “It is curious to observe the wisdom and penetration of those who have at all mingled in literary society. They read an author, study his pecuWild anguish glooms my brow; His flaming mark is fixed on my head, As thus he spoke grew dark the sky, Fraser's. liarities and style, and imagine they perfectly understand his whole system of thought, and could detect one mistake instantly. But to show that even authors themselves are not always infallible judges, we will relate an anecdote which has never yet been made public, though, having received it from an undoubted source, we venture to vouch for its veracity. Shelley, whose poems many years ago were so much read and admired, necessarily excited much discussion in literary circles. A party of literary men were one evening engaged in canvassing his merits, when one of them declared that he knew the turns of Shelley's mind so well that amongst a thousand anonymous pieces he would detect his, no matter when published. Mr. James Augustus St. John, who was present, not liking the blustering tone of the speaker, remarked that he thought he was mistaken, and that it would, amongst so many, be difficult to trace the style of Shelley. Every one present, however, sided with his opponent, and agreed that it was perfectly impossible that any one could imitate his style. A few days after a poem, entitled To the Queen of My Heart, appeared in the London Weekly Review, with Shelley's signature, but written by Mr. St. John himself. The same coterie met and discussed the poem brought to their notice, and prided themselves much upon their discrimination: said they at once recognized the style of Shelley, could not be mistaken, his soul breathed through it—it was himself.' And so The Queen of My Heart was settled to be Shelley's! and to this day it is numbered with his poems (see Shelley's Works, edited by Mrs. Shelley, vol. iv. p. 166. It deceived even his wife), and very few are in the secret that it is not actually his. The imitation was perfect, and completely deceived every one, much to the discomfiture of all concerned." The Bookman, October, 1891, Dowden to the Editor : "The passage from the Eclectic Review is new to me, and is very interesting. Mrs. Shelley first printed and then rejected Queen of My Heart. Medwin had previously printed it as Shelley's. Forman prints it among Juvenilia. Garnett rejects it. I printed it, but with great misgivings, and with a footnote to warn the reader that it is of doubtful authenticity, placing it, as Forman does, among the Juvenilia. It ought never to have been mistaken for a poem of Shelley's maturity, and Medwin's authority is the only ground for admitting it among Shelley's poems. I do not believe he wrote it." LOST POEMS Horsham Publication. Reminiscences of a Newspaper Editor, Fraser's, June, 1841: "It was his [Sir Bysshe Shelley] purse which supplied young Bysshe with the means of printing many of his fugitive pieces. These issued from the press of a printer at Horsham named Phillips; and although they were not got up in good style, the expense was much greater than Shelley could have afforded, if he had not received assistance from his grandfather." No examples are known. Original Poetry. By Victor and Cazire. Morning Post, September 18, 1810: “This day is published in royal 8vo. Price 4s. in boards, original poetry by Victor and Cazire sold by Stockdale, Jr., No. 41 Pall Mall." No copy is known. Shelley (from Field Place) to Stockdale, September 6, 1810: "I enclose you the title page of the poems, which as you will see you have mistaken on account of the illegibility of my handwriting. I have had the last proof impression from my printer this morning, and I suppose the execution of the work will not be long delayed. As soon as it possibly can it shall reach you, and believe me Sir, grateful for the interest you take in it." Stockdale's Budget, 1827. Hotten, i. 39, 40. Garnett, Macmillan's Magazine, June, 1860: "In the autumn of 1810 he [Shelley] presented himself at the publisher's place of business, and requested his aid in extricating him from a dilemma in which he had involved himself by commissioning a printer at Horsham to strike off one thousand four hundred and eighty copies of a volume of poems without having the wherewithal to discharge his account. He could hardly have expected Stockdale to do it for him, and the latter's silence is conclusive testimony that he contributed no pecuniary assistance, liberal as he doubtless was with good advice. By some means, however, the mute in glorious Aldus of Horsham was appeased, and the copies of the work transferred to Stockdale, who proceeded to advertise them, and take the other usual steps to promote their sale [here Garnett conjectures that Shelley's partner in the composition was his cousin, Harriet Grove]. It had hardly been published a week when Stockdale, inspecting it with more attention than he had previously had leisure to bestow, recognized one of the pieces as an old acquaintance in the pages of M. G. Lewis, author of The Monk. . . . Stockdale lost no time in communicating his discovery to his employer, whose mortification may be imagined, and his directions for the instant suppression of the Edition anticipated. By this time, however, nearly a hundred copies had been put into circulation." The volume was also advertised in The Morning Chronicle as above, The Morning Post, September 19th, The Times, October 12th. It was noticed as follows: 64: pp. The Poetical Register, 1810–1811, — Original Poetry. By Victor and Cazire. Small 8vo. "There is no 'original poetry' in this volume; there is nothing in it but downright scribble. It is really annoying to see the waste of paper which is made by such persons as the putters-together of these sixty-four pages. There is, however, one consolation for the critics, who are obliged to read all this sort of trash. It is, that the crime of publishing is generally followed by condign punishment, in the shape of bills from the stationer and printer, and in the chilling tones of the bookseller, when, to the questions of the anxious rhymer, how the book sells, he answers that not more than half a dozen copies have been sold." Forman, The Shelley Library, p. 7. The British Critic, April, 1811: "When we ventured to say that poetical taste and genius abound in the present day, we by no means intended to assert, that we always meet with either the one or the other. Miserable, indeed, are the attempts which we are often doomed to encounter; so miserable sometimes that it seems quite wonderful how any individuals fancying themselves able to write should be so far behind their contemporaries. One of the unknown authors of this volume begins by complaining, most sincerely, we are convinced, of the difficulty of writing grammatically, but there is another difficulty, which seems never to have entered the lady's head (if a lady !) — that is, the difficulty of writing metrically. In this she is still less successful than in the other, and does not seem at all to suspect it. The verse intended to be used is that of 'The Bath Guide,' and so it is sometimes; but sometimes also not. For example :— "This they friendly will tell, and n'er make you blush, Again : — "My excuse shall be humble, and faithful, and true Such as I fear can be made but by few.' — P. 7. This humble and faithful lady lays claim only to 'sense, wit, and grammar!' Yet she tells her friend : "Be not a coward, shrink not a tense, But read it all over, and make it out sense. What a tiresome girl! pray soon make an end.'"'— P. 9. This last line, if not measure, contains at least truth in the first part, and a reasonable wish in the second. "Two epistles, in this exquisite style, begin the volume, which is filled up by songs of sentimental nonsense, and very absurd tales of horror. It is perfectly clear, therefore, that whatever we may say in favor of the poetry of this time, such volumes as this have no share in the commendation. One thing may be said in its favor, that the printer has done his task well; would he had been employed on something better! If he has taste as well as skill, he must dread the names of Victor and Cazire." An Essay on Love. Shelley (from Keswick) to Godwin, January 16, 1812: "I have desired the publications of my early youth to be sent to you. You will perceive that Zastrozzi and St. Irvyne were written prior to my acquaintance with your writings the Essay on Love, a little poem, since." Hogg, ii. 62. No copy is known. A Poetical Essay on the Existing State of Things. The Oxford Herald, March 9, 1811: Literature. / Just published, |