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selfish reason to wish that you would come, which I have a great mind not to mention; yet I will not omit it, as it might induce you. Shelley and C- are gone; they went to-day to Venice on important business; and I am left to take care Now, if all of you, or any of you, would come and cheer my solitude, it would be exceedingly kind. I dare say you would find many of your friends here; among the rest there is the Signora Felicho, whom I believe you knew at Pisa.

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Shelley and I have ridden almost every evening. Cdid the same at first; but she has been unlucky, and once fell from her horse, and hurt her knee so as to knock her up for some time. It is the fashion here for all the English to ride; and it is very pleasant on these fine evenings, when we set out at sunset and are lighted home by Venus, Jupiter, and Diana, who kindly lend us their light after the sleepy Apollo is gone to bed. The road which we frequent is raised somewhat above, and overlooks, the river, affording some very fine points of view amongst these woody mountains.

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Still, we know no one; we speak to one or two people at the Casino, and that is all. We live in our studious way, going on with Tasso, whom I like, but who, now I have read more than half his poem, I do not know that I like so well as Ariosto. Shelley translated the Symposium in ten days. It is a most beautiful piece of writing. I think you will be delighted with it. It is true that in many particulars it shocks our present manners; but no one can be a reader of the works of antiquity unless they can transport themselves from these to other times, and judge not by our, but their, morality.

"Shelley is tolerably well in health; the hot weather has done him good. We have been in high debate nor have we come to any conclusion concerning the land or sea journey to Naples. We have been thinking that, when we want to go, although the equinox will be past, yet the equinoctial winds will hardly have spent themselves; and I cannot express to you how I fear a storm at sea, with two such young

children as William and Clara. Do you know the periods when the Mediterranean is troubled, and when the wintry halcyon days come? However it may be, we shall see you before we proceed southward.

"We have been reading Eustace's Tour through Italy. I do not wonder the Italians reprinted it. Among other select specimens of his way of thinking, he says that the Romans did not derive their arts and learning from the Greeks; that Italian ladies are chaste, and the lazzaroni honest and industrious; and that, as to assassination and highway robbery in Italy, it is all a calumny - no such things were ever heard of. Italy was the garden of Eden, and all the Italians Adams and Eves, until the blasts of hell (i. e. the French for by that polite name he designates them) came. By the by, an Italian servant stabbed an English one here, it was thought dangerously at first, but the man is doing better.

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"I have scribbled a long letter, and I dare say you have long wished to be at the end of it. Well, now you are; so, my dear Mrs. Gisborne, with best remembrances,

"Yours obliged and affectionately,

"MARY W. SHELLEY."

In Mrs. Shelley's journal of this year are recorded two amusing ghost stories, which may find a place here, for the edification of believers in spectral appearances :—

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"Tuesday, October 20th. — The Chevalier Mengaldo spends the evening at the Hoppners', and relates several ghost stories two that occurred to himself.

"When the Chevalier was at the University, and very young, on returning home to pass the vacation he heard that the inhabitants of the town had been frightened by the mighty visitation of a ghost, who traversed the town from one end to the other; so much to their terror, that no one would venture out after dark. The Chevalier felt a great curiosity to see the ghost, and stationed himself at the window of a house of

one of his friends, by which the shadow always passed. Twelve o'clock struck; no ghost appeared. One; half-past one. The Chevalier grew sleepy, and determined to return home. The town chiefly consisted, like most country towns, of one long street, and as the Chevalier, on his road home, was at one end of it, he saw at the other something white, like a rabbit or greyhound, that appeared to advance towards him. He perceived that as he advanced it grew larger and larger, and appeared to take a human form. The Chevalier could now no longer doubt but that it was the ghost, and felt his courage fail him, although he strove to master it as well as he could. The figure, as it approached, grew gigantic, and the Chevalier crouched behind a column as it passed, which it did with enormous footsteps. As it passed, it appeared all dressed in white; the face was long and white, and its hand appeared of itself capable of covering the whole body of Mengaldo.

"The Chevalier, when he was in the army, had a duel with a brother officer, and wounded him in the arm. He was very sorry at having wounded the young man, and attended him during its cure; so that when he got well they became firm and dear friends. Being quartered, I think, at Milan, the young officer fell desperately in love with the wife of a musician, who disdained his passion. The young man became miserable, and Mengaldo continually advised him to ask leave of absence—to hunt, to pay a visit, and in some way to divert his passion. One evening the young man came to Mengaldo, and said, Well, I have asked leave of absence, and am to have it early to-morrow morning; so lend me your fowlingpiece and cartridges, for I shall go to hunt for a fortnight.' Mengaldo gave it him; and among his bird-shot were some bullets, put there for safety, in case, while hunting, he should be attacked by a wolf, &c.

"The young man said: 'Tell the lady I love that our conversation has been chiefly about her to-night, and that her name was the last I spoke.' 'Yes, yes,' said Mengaldo, ‘I will say anything you please; but do not talk of her any more—

you must forget her.' On going away the young man embraced Mengaldo warmly; but the latter saw nothing more in it than his affection, combined with melancholy in separating himself from his mistress.

"When Mengaldo was on guard that night, he heard the report of a gun. He was first troubled and agitated by it, but afterwards thought no more of it, and when relieved from guard went to bed, although he passed a restless and sleepless night. In the morning early, some one knocked at the door. The man said he had got the young officer's leave of absence, and had taken it to his house. A servant had opened the door, and he had gone up stairs; but the officer's room-door was locked, and no one answered to his knocking; but something oozed through under the door that appeared like blood. Mengaldo was dreadfully terrified; he hurried to his friend's house, burst open the door, and found him stretched on the ground. He had blown out his brains, and his head and brains were scattered about the room, so that no part of the head remained on the shoulders. Mengaldo was grieved and shocked, and had a fever in consequence, which lasted some days. When he was well, he got leave of absence, and went into the country to try to divert his mind.

"One evening at moonlight, he was returning home from a walk, and passing through a lane with a hedge on both sides, so high that he could not see over it. As he walked along, he heard a rustling in the bushes beside him, and the figure of his friend issued from the hedge and stood before him, as he had seen him after his death, without his head. This figure he saw many times afterwards, always in the same place. It was impalpable to the touch, and never spoke, although Mengaldo often addressed it. Once he took another person with him. The same rustling was heard; the same shadow stepped forth; his companion was dreadfully terrified; he tried to cry, but his voice failed him, and he ran off as quickly as he could."

Under date" November 13th, 1818," Godwin thus

gossips with Shelley on the events of the day, and on his own projects:·

:

"I am at present deeply engaged upon Malthus. It goes on slowly, but so much the more surely (not the more surely as to its being ever finished, but the more surely) as to its being finally

'Fortis et in seipso totus teres atque rotundus,

Externi ne quid valeat per læve morari,

In quem maneat semper fortuna.'

I have just discovered a train of reasoning which, if I am not mistaken, will utterly and forever demolish his geometrical ratio.

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"You have heard, of course, of the melancholy suicide of Sir Samuel Romilly. I do not remember any event that has produced so deep a public sensation. He was undoubtedly an admirable man; and I do not know any one whose parliamentary existence was so completely devoted to public good.

"You are also, I suppose, informed of the withdrawing the army of occupation from France. Lord Liverpool, we are told, has in consequence insisted upon a large reduction of our peace establishment, and made this measure the sine quâ non of his continuing in office. This is supposed to be owing to the turn matters took in the General Election. So far we have really made some advance in the scale of improvement.

"The last letters I received from Mary are of the date of August 3d and October 1st. In the October letter, she apparently labored under great depression of spirits, in consequence of the loss of her infant. I hope she has by this time recovered her accustomed tone, and is happy.

"Very affectionately yours,

"WILLIAM GODWIN."

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