The Poetry of Mary Robinson: Form and Fame

68 The Poetry of Mary Robinson

London 241–3). At the time the poem appeared, Pitt’s bill had passed

Commons and seemed likely to pass the House of Lords, so Stuart’s

was already a lost cause. As such, Robinson would not have wished to

have her name attached to it.^3 Pitt’s Regency Bill was also moot, for

that matter: the King’s recovery was reported in February and officially

announced in all the papers in early March.

Bell’s affiliation with the Prince continued until 1794. During this

time, Robinson contributed primarily to the Oracle. With this new

venture, Bell became the new center of gravity for Topham’s enemies

and castaways. Stuart devoted much of the paper to ridiculing Topham

and the World. By the summer of 1789, however, Stuart’s Star had

folded; most of its staff, particularly James Boaden, James Mackintosh,

and even Stuart himself, ended up working for Bell at the Oracle. At

the Oracle, Robinson would make important connections that would

last until the end of her career. Boaden would remain a close friend

and would write poems in Della Cruscan fashion to her Laura Maria

avatar as “Arno.” Years later, Mackintosh likely was instrumental in

arranging Robinson’s employment by his brother- in- law and Peter

Stuart’s younger brother, Daniel Stuart, at the Morning Post.

The Oracle was politically ambivalent during the early years of the

Revolution debate, before the start of the war, and before the worst

abuses of power on the part of Pitt’s government. As a businessman,

Bell was opportunistic, a fact that surely governed his conduct of

the paper. For the first six months, the paper remained neutral or at

least failed to secure financial support from either the government

or the opposition. In January of 1790, around the time Bell hired

Peter Stuart and Boaden, Bell also accepted £200 from the Treasury

(Werkmeister, London 330). Although only one- third of what the

Treasury paid Topham, this sum put the Oracle among the eight

other government- controlled newspapers. Bell, however, was unable

to remain completely loyal because many of his friends were oppo-

nents of the government. Sheridan, moreover, would resume at the

Oracle the inf luence he had had at the World. Sheridan also remained

close with the Prince—much to the chagrin of Burke and Fox. While

the political reporting of the Oracle is frequently contradictory and

confusing, suffice it to say that the paper generally ref lected the poli-

tics of Sheridan and the Prince, which probably explains Robinson’s

affiliation with the paper.^4 The government perceived the paper to be

subversive, and responded with harassing libel suits that would ulti-

mately result in Bell’s bankruptcy, announced in May of 1793, and

his temporary loss of the Oracle. Bell would not publish any books by

Mary Robinson after this time, and she would publish only a couple

9780230100251_04_ch02.indd 689780230100251_04_ch02.indd 68 12/28/2010 11:08:26 AM12/28/2010 11:08:26 AM

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