3074. EBB to Julia Martin
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 18, 177–179.
58 Welbeck street.
Thursday– [29 July 1852] [1]
No, indeed, I have not been too absorbed to write to you, my dearest Mrs Martin. Still, one’s time gets broken into fragments .. trodden upon, ground to pieces, here,—and the things one thinks of most, one is apt to give less obvious attention to. And then, I upset myself during the first four days after our arrival, & had to lie on the sofa for a fortnight in penalty. But the heat of the weather forbids any danger to the chest, and I am well now in all ways, & mean to enjoy as much as I can, & be patient for the rest. Henrietta was looking ill & out of spirits when she was here .. I had not very much comfort in seeing her. She was depressed, I think, in the prospect of being confined alone at Taunton. It could not be helped, however. Surtees is really very affectionate & attentive to her, & I liked him, do you know, better than I ever did before—& their child is a magnificent boy in the matter of legs, arms, & shoulders, & cutting his teeth to everybody’s satisfaction. They have taken a house & are furnishing it, which will place them in a more comfortable position certainly. I shall be easier when I hear of their being settled in it—for really I have not the least faith in Henrietta’s calculations & should not be surprised at her trouble’s coming on any day. She is languid & pale & thin,—not looking well at all, I grieve to say.
Here is Robert’s little note. So you wanted to lay a trap for him “unbeknownst to me”, did you? But the robins wont come to the crumbs of bread this hot weather, .. & so I escape your cruel cunning for once. Seriously .. you are the opposite to cruel .. that is, very, very kind .. in inviting him to go to you—& the temptation is great .. only that he cant go really. And now, you.! Do you mean to say that you are not coming to London, after the prospect you opened to me?
For ourselves, we have had much thrown upon us since we came, & some vexation, among other kinds of engagement. We have had pleasant hours too, .. the pleasantest for me with Arabel, who looks well & is cheerful, I thank God, & comes over to me in bright fragments of time, to have a little gossip & love together. For the rest, why, we had Mazzini here yesterday with his pale spiritual face & intense eyes. He made me melancholy with his vain dreams & perilous assumptions, & set me wondering on what turf of Italy he would lie at last, with a bullet through that noble heart of his– Oh, it must come to that, be sure. He does not understand, he does not see, while the simplest of us can see and understand.– By the way, upon our talking of going to Rome in the winter, he suggested the possibility of meeting us there .. which will be re-assuring information generally to our friends.
Then, Mrs Jameson has come back—and we dined the other day with Mr Mon[c]kton Milnes & met a very intelligent son of Chevalier Bunsen. It is against oath that we should dine out anywhere—but Mrs Milnes is about to be confined .. & it was a five-oclock dinner, preceding a driving out in the park & to Kensington of us four, which altogether was pleasant & unceremonious. We heard upon the whole more about the elections than literature,—& Mr Milnes did’nt seem inclined to give up the matter as less sanguine persons do. He thought that Lord Derby could not stand by such a majority as he would attain .. & there was talk of coalition .. Lord Palmerston, Lord Lansdown, & so on. [2]
Tennyson is about through an attack of hay-fever which drives him into the country to be cured. Mrs Tennyson sent me a pretty kind note as soon as she heard of our arrival to beg us to go to Twickenham as soon (& not sooner) as her husband returned. I like her very much.
Then we have had our dear friend Mr Kenyon, & he took us to Wimbledon for a day to his full-dress country villa. [3] Almost too minutely pretty it is– Even the ivy leaves seemed to lie exactly as they were taught to lie. But it is a lovely change of scene from London, & the verdure & the shade are perfectly genuine after all.
Do you know I am glad in right earnest that the majority of people should be gone or going fast out of London? So glad, indeed!
Where do you think we were yesterday?. Meeting Lord Stanhope & his chrystal ball and seer, at Mrs Haworth’s house, .. & there we had luncheon & the Spirits of the sun, cold chicken and the spirit Oremus– [4] Various persons were there .. believers & unbelievers .. but nobody laughed .. which you shall set down as a sign of the times. Tell Mr Martin that at the instigation of Mon[c]kton Milnes the question was put, whether Lord Derby would be prime minister next June. Answer—‘no.’ One of the spirits, on being interrogated, “did not know” if Louis Napoleon would be emperor .. another spirit doubted it much .. but, that we are to go to Rome next winter, seemed a decided thing in the spiritual world—“we” meaning Robert & myself.
Lord Stanhope is entirely honest, I am sure .. and from the countenance of the seer I should not think ill of her. At the same time, I did not come away in a happy state of faith altogether. Only it was curious, and I should like to see more of it– A writer for the Athenæum was present, [5] in fits of indignation & intolerance. He seemed particularly exasperated by the combination of chicken & lobster salad with the spirit Oremus .. which I for my part, got over entirely.
Perhaps you never heard of the chrystal ball. The original ball was bought by Lady Blessington from an “Ægyptian magician,” & resold at her sale. She never could understand the use of it, but others have looked deeper, or with purer eyes, it is said,—and now there is an optician in London who makes & sells these balls, & speaks of a “great demand” though they are expensive. ‘Many persons’ said Lord Stanhope, “use the balls, without the moral courage to confess it.”
I tell you all this, to give you hope of “John Bull”– What! this, in England—practical England .. England with her common sense & railroads!– I leave it all to your reflections.
God bless you– George is not with you now, of course– He is very affectionate to me,—and one of my chief joys in England is having sight & hearing of him, dear fellow.
Our love to dear Mr Martin. So interested I was in what you told me of your little Letitia– Do give her my true love when you write to her, & thank her for her little note.
Your ever affectionate Ba.
We have very comfortable rooms this time, & at a moderate price.
Publication: None traced.
Manuscript: Wellesley College.
1. Date provided by EBB’s mention of RB’s note to Mrs. Martin (letter 3071), which was written on 27 July 1852. The first Thursday thereafter was the 29th.
2. Derby’s government fell in December 1852, and a coalition was formed under the leadership of the Earl of Aberdeen. Palmerston became home secretary; Gladstone, chancellor of the exchequer; and Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice (1780–1863), 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, agreed to be a member of “the cabinet without portfolio” (ODNB).
3. Lime Cottage, in the southeast corner of Wimbledon Common.
4. Latin for “let us pray.” EBB calls Oremus “spirit of the sun” in letter 3075.
5. Henry Chorley, as identified in letter 3075.
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