What I Remember, Volume 2

uaintances, he should stand perpetually at the foot of the column in the Place Vend?me. But it seems to me that at least as advantageous a post of observation for the purpose would be the foot of Gi

and was gazing at it earnestly, lost in admiration of its perfect beauty. "Si svita, signore," said a little street urchin, coming up behind him-"It unscrews, sir!" As much as to say, "Wouldn't you like just to take it off bodily and carry it away?" But, as I said, to apprehend the aptitude of the gamin's sneer, one must

acquaintances. I lived there for more than thirty years, and the number of persons, chiefly English, American, and Italian, whom I knew during that period is astonishing. The number of them was of course all the greater from the fact that the society, at least so far a

one after another as they dodge about half eluding one when just on the point of recovering them, and, fixing them in memory's camera, photograph them one after another. But I cannot hope that such a gal

tely acquainted with the Garrows and with Theodosia, must have been the first means of bringing the girls together. There were assuredly very few young women in England at that day to whom Theodosia Garrow in social intercourse would have had to look up, as to one on a higher intellectual level than her own. But Elizabeth Barrett was one of them. I am not talking of acquirements. Nor was my wife thinking of such when she used to speak of the poetess as she had known her at that time. I am talking, as my wife used to talk, of pure native intelle

yself that that would in any case have found some raison d'être. But the pleasure of the two girls-girls no more i

understand that any such effect was not produced by any talk or look or word of the nature of preaching, or anything approaching to it, but simply by the perception and appreciation of what Elizabeth Barrett Browning was; of the immaculate purity of every thought that passed through her pellucid mind, and the indefeasible nobility of her every idea, sentiment, and opinion. I hope my reader is not so much the slave of conventional phras

alas, though she was very much my junior) a very bright, very warm-hearted, very clever little woman, who knew everybody, and was, I think, more universally beloved than any other individual among us. A little volume of her poems was published after her untimely death. They are not such as could take by storm the careless ears of the world, which knows nothing about her, and must, I suppose, be admitted to be marked by that mediocrity which neither gods nor men can tolerate. But it is impossible to read the little volume without perceiving how choice a spirit the authoress must have been, and understanding how it came to pass that she was especi

medical advice. It could not be done at a moment's notice, for a message had to be sent and a doctor to come from Florence. And this was not done till the second day of her illness. And I had good reason for thinking that, had she been properly attended to on the first day, her life might have been saved. She would not let her friends send for the doctor, and the friends

er friend, Browning knew, doubtless, but no

the working out of the idea is delicious. But I am inclined to think that she is illustrating an allegory by a thought, rather than a thought by an allegory. The idea of the god destroying the reed in making the instrument has, I imagine, given her occasion to declare that in the sublimation of the poet the man is lost for the ordinary purposes of man's life. It has been thus instead of being the reverse; and

za he says, "In the third line of it, she loses her antithesis. She must spoil her man, as wel

f beast is th

t have laughed

poet he m

gods si

d at her request left it with her. A day or two later, she writes to me: "Dear friend,-I send you back your criticism and Mrs. B.'s rejoinder. She made me show it to her, and she wishes you to see her

to give the reader the great treat of seeing Mrs. B

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gh]. Also there is a passion for essential truth (as apprehended) and a necessity for speaking it out at all risks, inconvenient to personal peace. Add to this and much else the loss of the sweet unconscious cool privacy among the 'reeds' …[1] which I for one care so much for-the loss of the privilege of being glad or sorry, ill or well, without a 'notice.' That may have its glory to certain minds. But most people would be glad to 'stir their tea in silence' when they are grave, and even to talk nonsense (much too frivolously) when they are merry, without its running the round of the newspapers in two worlds perhaps. You know I don't invent, Isa. In fact, I am sorely tempted to send Mr. Trollope a letter I had this morning, as an illustration of my view, and a reply to his criticism. Only this letter among many begins with too many fair speeches. Still it se

rns to the pocket from the poem in the Cornhill; pleasant praise from dear Mr. Tr

waist; yes, Mr. Trollope, a

god nor beast, i

B

*

do not indicate any hi

here

f believes in the doctrine that her fancy has led her to illustrate." At all events, the divine afflatus had not so marred the absolutely single-minded truthfulness of the woman in her as to make it possible that she should, for the sake of illustrating, however appositely, any fancy however brilliant, put forth a "doctrine" as believing in it, which she did not

omplish the union of her disjecta membra, throw off the yoke of the bad governments which had oppressed her, make herself a nation, and do well as such. But we differed widely as to the ultimate utility, the probable results, and, above all, as to the motives of the Emperor's conduct. Mrs. Browning believed in him and trusted him. We did neither. Hence the following interesting and curious letter, written to my wife at Florence by Mrs. Browning, who was passing

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and for your kind and welcome letter, which I have delayed to thank you for. My body lags so behind my soul always, an

ian situation, while loving and desiring for Ita

to words official or unofficial, and in repeatin

against Italy? Why is it that the Times newspaper, which declared … first that the elections were to be prevented by France, and next that they were to be tampered with … is not justified before our eyes? I appeal to your sober judgment … if indeed the Emperor Napoleon desires the restoration of the Dukes!! Is he not all the more admirable for being loyal and holding his hand off while he has fifty thousand men rea

not understanding the weight of these virtues as from not admiring them. But the opportunity for exercising the

and calumnies thrown out by foreign journals-English, Prussian, Austrian, and others-which traduce the Emperor's motives in diplomacy, as they traduced

. Whatever wickedness he meant by that the gods know; and English statesmen suspect … (or suspected a very short short t

he best terms he could, having had his hand forced. In consequence of this treaty he has carried out his engagement to Austria in certain official forms, knowing well that the free will and choice of the Italians are

etter, but still not as strong as I was befo

he first of October, or soon after, in spite of the revival of fine weather. Mr. Landor is surprisingly improved by the good air here and the repose of mind; walks two miles, and writes alcaics a

only know yet by the extracts in the Athenaeum, which brings us your excellent articles. May I not thank you for them?

Tuscany in 18

he helps to work in the vineyards and to keep the sheep, having made close friends with the contadini to whom he reads a

Browning's bo

entured to peep through the leaves the other morning, and came to the following notice: 'This is

an for you! But his w

with my husba

and affectio

H BARRETT

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steful to her because they concerned the character of the man himself as well as his policy as a ruler. And those talks and arguments have left me probably the only man alive, save one, who knows with such certainty as I know it, and can assert as I can, the absolute absurdity and impossibility of the idea that she, being what she was, could have been bribed by any amount of Imperial or other flattery, not only to profess opinions which she did not veritably hold-this touches her moral nature, perhaps the most pellucidly truth

gentleness of her nature made it a pain to her that any fellow-creature, however ignorant and far away from her, should so think of her. And my disgust at a secret attempt to stab has impelled me to say what I kno

above. Mrs. Browning's handwriting shows ever and anon an odd tendency to form each letter of a word separately-a circumstance which I mention for the sake of remarking that old Huntingford,

nother had been driven by the feelings and sympathies engendered by Italy's political struggles to abandon the tonsure for the sake of joining the "patriot" cause. His muse was of the drawing-room school and calibre. But he wrote very many charming little poems breathing the warmest aspirations of the somewhat extreme g

il verde, è un terno che s

green, are a threefold combination" [I am obliged to be horribly prosaic in order to make th

ders, and partly for the sake of the generously appreciative criticism of one of my brother's books, which I also always considered to be one of his best. I must add that Mrs. Browning's one bit

ho can seldom get a novel to hold him, has been held by all three, and by this the strongest. Also it has qualities which the others gave no sign of. For instance, I was wrung to tears by the third volume

have not suffered more than was absolut

" [my mother] "has been less well than u

truly

h Barrett

idi, Wed

day," But it evidently marks the beginning of acquaintanceship between the two exceptionally, though not equally gifted girls-Elizabeth Barrett and Theodosia Garrow. It is written on a sheet of the very small duo

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ng her for allowing me to read in it sooner than I should otherwise have done, those contributi

to leave me, if a visit to an invalid condemned to the peine forte et dure of being very silent, notwithstanding her womanhood, were a less gloomy thing. At any rate I am encouraged to thank Miss Fisher and Miss Garrow for their visits of repeated inquiry, a

rely o

BARR

*

almost solitary survival of the memorials of the days to which it belongs. It must doubtless have been followed by sundry othe

that very pleasant but not very intellectual society, were not likely to be such as Mr. Browning would readily make intimates of. And I think I see in memory's magic glass that the men used to be rather afraid of him. Not that I ever saw him rough or uncourteous with the most exasperating fool that ever rubbed a man's nervous system the wrong way; but there was a quiet, lurking smile which, supported by very few words, used to seem to have the singular property of making the utterer