Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 3.djvu/27

 ii s. in. JAN. 14, ion.] NOTES AND QUEEIES.

LONDON, SATURDAY, JANUARY U, 1911.

CONTENTS.-No. 55.

NOTES : Shelley and Leigh Hunt, 21 Statues and Memorials in the British Isles, 22 The Earliest Tele- graphy, 24 Sir John Chandos James Forsyth " Elze " =Already, 25 Longfellow on Dufresny, 26.

QUERIES: Sophie Dawes Miss Wykeham Alderman Wilcox, 27 Benjamin D'Israeli of Dublin Teesdale Legion Capt. Witham and the Siege of Gibraltar- Grange Court, St. Clement Danes Thackeray and Pugilism Thackeray and the Stage T. J. Thackeray O. Goldsmith, B.A., 28 M. G. Drake Richard Heylin W. J. Lockwood T. Coryat and Westminster School Authors Wanted " Teetotal " Ha.ckney and Tom Hood Miss Pastrana Lady Elizabeth Preston, 29 County Coats of Arms Coroner of the Verge Crowe Families, 30.

BEPLIES : Poor Souls' Light: " Totenlaterne," 30 Early Graduation Colani and the Reformation, 32 Henry of Navarre and the Three-Handled Cup Gordons at West- minster School, 33 Sir Walter Raleigh and Tobacco ' Young Folks ' Itinerant Tailors, 34 Westminster Chimes "Sackbut" Knots in Handkerchiefs Corpse Bleeding Artephius, ' De Characteribus Planetarum,' 35 Elephant and Castle in Heraldry Puns on Payne The Brown Sex, 36 Fores's Musical Envelope Bohemian Musical Folk-lore Al fieri in England Lady Conyngham Bishop Luscombe " Yorker," 37 Viscount Ossington " Tenedish," 38.

NOTES ON BOOKS: 'The Romance of Bookselling' The National Review.'

Booksellers' Catalogues. Notices to Correspondents.

SHELLEY AND LEIGH HUNT.

IN that very interesting compilation, ' Recol- lections of the Table Talk of Samuel Rogers,' the poet is reported to have said :

" Before meeting Shelley in Italy, I had seen him only once. It was in my own house in St. James' Place, where he called upon me introducing himself to request the loan of some money which he wished to present to Leigh Hunt ; and he offered me a bond for it. Having nume- rous claims upon me at that time, 1 was obliged to refuse the loan."

Prior to its final acceptance, a part of that statement seems to require revision. I do not think that Shelley before April, 1816, had any necessity to raise money for Leigh Hunt.

Prof. Dowden in a note (' Life of Shelley,' vol. ii. p. 181) says : " When it was that he [Shelley] called on Rogers to request a loan for Leigh Hunt I cannot tell."

While not disputing the fact that Shelley did call upon Rogers earlier than April, 1816, to borrow money, I submit that there is no evidence whatever that the money was intended for Leigh Hunt. I think it can be shown that the loan was requested for God-

win, and that the date of Shelley's visit to Rogers was May, 1814.

When, in February, 1813, Leigh Hunt and his brother were sentenced to two years' imprisonment, and a fine of 500?. each, for publishing a libel on the Prince Regent, Shelley, who was then at Tremadoc in Wales, wrote, on or about 19 February, to Hook- ham, and begged him to raise a subscription to pay Hunt's fine. Towards that object Shelley sent 201. When it was pointed out that neither of the Hunts would accept pecuniary assistance, Shelley wrote direct to Leigh Hunt, at that time in prison, and offered to pay either the whole, or a great part of the fine. This princely offer was at once declined by both the brothers Hunt, and there is no reason to believe that the question was ever reopened. As a matter of fact, Leigh Hunt was not personally known to Shelley until December, 1816, which was long after the period indicated by Rogers.

That the visit to Rogers must have taken place prior to Byron's departure from England, in April, 1816, is proved by Rogers himself, who states that on the same day that Shelley called, Byron dined with him. Prof. Dowden tells us (' Life of Shelley,' vol. ii. p. 61) that in December, 1816, Mary became aware that Shelley had either given or con- veyed to Leigh Hunt a considerable sum of money, possibly for his private wants. This is the first intimation of any gift of money by Shelley to Leigh Hunt, and can have had no connexion whatever with Samuel Rogers. On the other hand, it is on record that in March, 1814, Shelley's affairs were in a critical condition. He wrote to his father to say that he could no longer delay raising money by the sale of post-obit bonds. Two months later, in May, 1814, Shelley tried very hard to raise money, but not for Leigh Hunt, who was not in need of money at that time. Shelley- wished to assist Godwin (Dowden, vol. i. pp. 417-18), with whose daughter he eloped at the end of July.

In May, 1815, Shelley gave Godwin 1,OOOZ., and in the following month the poet became entitled to an income of 1,OOOZ. a year. He had then certainly no occasion to borrow money from Rogers, for he was, at that time, decidedly prosperous. " Re- lieved from poverty and the oppression of debt," says Prof. Dowden, he longed to get out of London, and to find some haven of peace with Mary Godwin. Again, in January, 1816, Shelley agreed to sell an annuity for Godwin's benefit ; but not one