Wordsworthprobablylearned，whatShelleywasincapableoflearning，thatlovecanneverpermanentlybeafountain。Alivingpoet，inanarticle{6}whichyoualmostfeartobreatheuponlestyoushouldfluttersomeofthefrailpastel—likebloom，hassaidthething:
\"Loveitselfhastidalmoments，lapsesandflowsduetothemetricalruleoftheinteriorheart。\"Elementaryreasonshouldproclaimthistrue。Loveisanaffection，itsdisplayanemotion:loveistheair，itsdisplayisthewind。Anaffectionmaybeconstant;anemotioncannomorebeconstantthanthewindcanconstantlyblow。
All，therefore，thatamancanreasonablyaskofhiswifeisthatherloveshouldbeindeedawell。Awell;butaBethesda—well，intowhichfromtimetotimetheangeloftendernessdescendstotroublethewatersforthehealingofthebeloved。SuchaloveShelley\'ssecondwifeappearsunquestionablytohavegivenhim。Nay，shewascontentthatheshouldveerwhilesheremainedtrue;shecompanionedhimintellectually，sharedhisviews，enteredintohisaspirations，andyet—yet，evenatthedateofEpipsychidionthefoolishchild，herhusband，assignedherthepartofmoontoEmiliaViviani\'ssun，andlamentedthathewasbarredfromfinal，certain，irreversiblehappinessbyacoldandcalloussociety。Yetfewpoetsweresomatedbefore，andnopoetwassomatedafterwards，untilBrowningstoopedandpickedupafair—coinedsoulthatlayrustinginapooloftears。
Intruth，hisveryunhappinessanddiscontentwithlife，insofarasitwasnottheinevitablepenaltyoftheethicalanarch，canonlybeascribedtothissamechildlikeirrationality—thoughinsuchaformitisirrationalityhardlypeculiartoShelley。Pity，ifyouwill，hisspiritualruinsandtheneglectedearlytrainingwhichwaslargelytheircause;butthepityduetohisoutwardcircumstanceshasbeenstrangelyexaggerated。Theobloquyfromwhichhesufferedhedeliberatelyandwantonlycourted。Fortherest，hislotwasonethatmanyayoungpoetmightenvy。Hehadfaithfulfriends，afaithfulwife，anincomesmallbutassured。Povertyneverdictatedtohispen;thedesignsonhisbrightimaginationwereneveretchedbythesharpfumesofnecessity。
If，ashaschancedtoothers—aschanced，forexample，toMangan—