SHELLAC 384 SHELLEY of Dutch independence; and they appear to have heen generally adopted by about 1634. Formerly every shell was a hollow sphere of cast iron, having a fusehole an inch across, through which the charge was inserted, consisting of pieces of metal and powder to burst the shell. The hole was plugged by a fuse, timed to communi- cate fire to the charge after the lapse of a certain number of seconds. Since the introduction of rifled ordnance, the shell has become the commonest form of projectile. It has ceased to be spherical, and is usually of cylindrical form and pointed at the end. In the World War vast quantities of large explosive shells were used to blast the way for attacks. See Projectile; Artillery; Ammuni- tion; Explosives. SHELLAC, lac purified by melting and straining through coarse cotton bags. It occurs in commerce in thin, translucent, hard flakes, varying in color from yel- lowish-brown to black, sp. gr. 1.139, and is soluble in alcohol, hydrochloric acid, acetic acid, potash, soda, borax, and am- monia. A bleached or white variety is prepared by dissolving crude lac in pot- ash or soda, filtering and passing chlorine gas into the filtrate till all is precipitated; this is then collected, washed with water, slightly heated, and then twisted into sticks. Shellac is chiefly used in var- nishes, lacquers, and in the manufacture of sealing wax. SHELLEY, HARBY HOWE, an Am- erican composer, born at New Haven, Conn., in 1858. He studied music in New York, London, and Paris, and in 1899 became organist of the Fifth Avenue Bap- tist Church, New York. His works in- clude symphonies, a symphonic poem, sev- eral cantatas, and many songs and pieces for the organ. SHELLEY, NARY (GODWIN), an English author, second wife of the poet Shelley; born in London, Aug. 30, 1797. Her first story, "Frankenstein" (1818), won for her a place among the imagina- tive writers of England; it was followed by "Valperga," a historical romance (1823); "The Last Man" (1826); "Lo- dore" (1835); "Falkner" (1837). She died in London, Feb. 21, 1851. SHELLEY, PERCY BYSSHE, English poet, son of Timothy Shelley and grand- son of Sir Bysshe Shelley; born Horsham, England, Aug. 4, 1792; educated, Sion House (Brentford), Eton, and University College, Oxford. Of a delicate constitu- tion he was early characterized by an extreme sensibility and a lively imagina- tion, and by a resolute resistance to authority, custom, and every form of what he considered tvranny. At Eton he put himself in opposition to the constituted authorities by refusing to submit to fag- ging. At Oxford he published anony- mously, a scholastic thesis entitled "The Necessity of Atheism." The authorship being known he was challenged, and re- fusing either to acknowledge or deny it, was at once expelled. After leaving the university, he completed his poem of "Queen Mab," begun some time previous- ly, and privately printed in 1813. His first great poem, "Alastor, or the Spirit of Solitude," (1816), was followed in 1817 by the "Revolt of Islam," a poem PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY in the Spenserian stanza. In September, 1811, six months after his expulsion, he eloped to Edinburgh with Harriet West- brook, the daughter of a retired inn- keeper. She was 16 years of age, his own age being 19. The marriage turned out unhappily, and after nearly three years of a wandering unsettled life Mrs. Shelley returned with two children to her father's house. In November, 1816, she committed suicide by drowning. Shelley was deeply affected by this event, but soon after married Mary Godwin, with whom he had visited the Continent in 1814, and by whom he already had a child. By a suit in Chancery decided in 1817, Mr. Westbrook obtained the guardianship of the children, on the plea that his atheisti- cal opinions and irregular views on mar- riage made the father unfit to be intrusted with them. Partly from his lungs being affected, and partly from anxiety lest he
