donais, like a star,
Beacons from the abode where the Eternal are."

Shelley's body was washed ashore, July 18, and it was burned near the
spot, in accordance with Italian law; but the ashes and the unconsumed
heart were interred in the beautiful Protestant cemetery at Rome, not
far from where Keats was buried the previous year.

Few poets have been loved more than Shelley. Twentieth century
visitors to his grave often find it covered with fresh flowers. The
direction which he wrote for finding the tomb of Keats is more
applicable to Shelly's own resting place:--

"Pass, till the Spirit of the spot shall lead
Thy footsteps to a slope of green access,
Where, like an infant's smile, over the dead
A light of laughing flowers along the grass is spread."[22]

Works.--_Alastor, or the Spirit of Solitude_ (1816) is a magnificent
expression of Shelley's own restless, tameless spirit, wandering among
the grand solitudes of nature in search of the ineffably lovely dream
maiden, who was his ideal of beauty. He travels through primeval
forests, stands upon dizzy abysses, plies through roaring whirlpools,
all of which are symbolic of the soul's wayfaring, until at last,--

"When on the threshold
of the green recess,"

his dying glance rests upon the setting moon and the sufferer finds
eternal peace. The general tone of this poem is painfully despairing,
but this is relieved by the grandeur of the natural scenes and by many
imaginative flights.

[Illustration: GRAVE OF SHELLEY, PROTESTANT CEMETERY, ROME.]

The year 1819 saw the publication of a work unique among Shelley's
productions, _The Cenci_. This is a drama based upon the tragic story
of Beatrice Cenci. The poem deals with human beings, human passions,
real acts, and the natural world, whereas Shelley usually preferred to
treat of metaphysical theories, personified abstractions, and the
world of fancy. This strong drama was the most popular of his works
during his lifetime.

[Illustration: FACSIMILE OF STANZA FROM "TO A SKYLARK".]

He returned to the ideal sphere again in one of his great poems, the
lyrical drama _Prometheus Unbound_ (1820). This poem is the apotheosis
of the French Revolution. Prometheus, the friend of mankind, lies
tortured and chained to the mountain side. As the hour redemption
approaches, his beloved Asia, the symbol of nature, arouses the soul
of Revolution, represented by Demogorgon. He rises, hurls down the
enemies of p