him into a deep slumber, which, for want of a better name, has been called somnambulism.

"He slept with his eyes open. During the continuance of it, I led him from one part of the room to the sofa at the other end; and when the trance was over, after the manner of all somnambulists, he would not admit that he had slept, or that he had made any replies, which I elicited from him by questioning; those replies being pitched in the same tone of voice as my own. He also, during a second experiment, improvised some Italian verses, which were faultless, although, at the time, he had never written

one.

This mesmerism was continued afterwards by Mrs. Shelley and another lady, we are told, with success; and the poet is said to have replied to the question as to its disease and its cure,

"What would cure me would kill me.” But the practice was discontinued, as it revived his old habit of walking in his sleep.

Such is Medwin's account of this experiment in animal magnetism, and I give it for the benefit of those who are converts to that belief,

* Medwin's Life of Shelley.

no less than for the consideration of those who are not.

We have a description also of the poet's personal appearance at this time, from the hand of Medwin, to whom it may be presumed he presented a very different appearance from when he parted from him many years previous.

says,

He

"It was nearly seven years since we had parted, but I should immediately have recognised him in a crowd. His figure was emaciated and somewhat bent, owing to nearsightedness, and his being forced to lean over his books, with his eyes almost touching them; his hair still profuse, and curling naturally, was partially interspersed with grey; but his appearance was youthful, and his countenance, whether grave or animated, strikingly intellectual."

This extreme youthfulness of appearance Shelley never lost, and, when at Geneva with Lord Byron, a gentleman once took him for a boy of seventeen, and was astonished at the subtilty of his remarks and the great deference which Byron seemed to pay to him; nor was his as

tonishment the less when he found he had thus been criticising Shelley.

Such, however, were the exterior marks, together with his noble disinterestedness and unworldliness of character, which gained for him the epithet of "The Eternal Child.” *

Of the many friends that gathered round him at Pisa, the celebrated Vacca, whom Lord Byron pronounced the first surgeon on the continent, was one of the most intimate. His extensive practice, no less than ill-health, which soon after carried him off to an untimely grave, precluded their meeting often, but Vacca's ardent love for his country, and he enthusiasm with which he looked forward to its regeneration, was sure to find sympathy in the poet's nature.

In conjunction with many of the more enlightened of his countrymen, he constantly sought hope and encouragement for his noble aspirations in the cause of Italy, in its present distracted state, against its oppressors.

* See Gilfillan's Gallery of Literary Portraits.

The Greek revolution-Shelley writes "Hellas".

John Keats His poetry

Shelley writes to the Quarterly on Keats' behalf. Arrival of Keats in Italy-Effects of the journey on his health-Severn's devotion to Keats-Death of Keats-Reflections on his genius and character.

THE year 1821 dawned upon a fierce struggle which convulsed every part of the Italian Peninsula. The success of the Neapolitan insurrection, filled every heart with hope and encouragement; Sicily followed theexample, and the people rose against an oppressive government.

Enthusiasm was at its highest, and even the

women took part in resisting the armed forces that fought against them, by pouring boiling oil on their heads from the house tops.

After a murderous onslaught, this result was, says Shelley, as it should be-Sicily was free.

Piedmont was the next to assert its freedom, and Genoa threw off the yoke of the king of Sardinia. The little states of Massa and Carrara formed themselves into republics and dismissed their king.

Tuscany alone remained tranquil; meantime the Austrians poured down their armies into the peninsula and spread desolation in their path.

Shelley watched the progress of events with intense interest, and day after day read the Austrian bulletins, eagerly looking for news of their defeat. The news of the revolt of Genoa filled him with transport, and he entered heart and soul into the triumph of their cause; but the sequel to this desperate struggle is too well known. Austrian bayonets were everywhere successful, and the chains of Italy were rivetted stronger than ever.

Besides Italians and the affairs of Italy, Shelley had contracted a close intimacy with