When Shelley was on
board, he had his papers with him; and much of the "Triumph of Life" was
written as he sailed or weltered on that sea which was soon to engulf
him.
The heats set in in the middle of June; the days became excessively hot.
But the sea-breeze cooled the air at noon, and extreme heat always put
Shelley in spirits. A long drought had preceded the heat; and prayers
for rain were being put up in the churches, and processions of relics
for the same effect took place in every town. At this time we received
letters announcing the arrival of Leigh Hunt at Genoa. Shelley was very
eager to see him. I was confined to my room by severe illness, and could
not move; it was agreed that Shelley and Williams should go to Leghorn
in the boat. Strange that no fear of danger crossed our minds! Living on
the sea-shore, the ocean became as a plaything: as a child may sport
with a lighted stick, till a spark inflames a forest, and spreads
destruction over all, so did we fearlessly and blindly tamper with
danger, and make a game of the terrors of the ocean. Our Italian
neighbours, even, trusted themselves as far as Massa in the skiff; and
the running down the line of coast to Leghorn gave no more notion of
peril than a fair-weather inland navigation would have done to those who
had never seen the sea.
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