Correspondence

2659.  EBB & RB to Anna Brownell Jameson

As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 14, 137–139.

March 4. ’47

Dearest Aunt Nina, How I hope you have thought it a long while to be waiting for news of us, and have heartily abused us, and forsworn us, and all that proves people really love each other! In fact our Pisa-life glides so equably by, with its days and weeks, that .. but I won’t begin these bad, futile reasons for just as I know that the news of your shoe pinching you would interest us, so you would put up with the baldest chronicle of our no-doings. Ba is pretty well, spite of the bitter cold weather (at Florence they have fresh snow; here, the wind is the grievance)—I am perhaps ungrateful when I say only “pretty well” .. but she has been better, and, I hoped would grow “best”: we keep the house, of course—but on, and just after, Ash Wednesday, the fit of spring which the weather took, let us go and hear the preaching at the Duomo,—a man with a vibrating voice and a great style of pointing out commonplaces: and there is another brother, every bit as voluble, at the Cavalieri Church. [1] Now to business: we leave here on the 17th April for Florence, where we hope to stay a month—thence we think of going gently thro’ Bologna, to Verona or Vicenza for the Summer and as much of the Autumn as we can take liberties with—(there are some very cool Baths at eight miles distance from Vicenza,—probably we may stop there) [2] —and last of all, we go to Venice—where Mr Kenyon is to endeavour and meet us in October, possibly with Chorley: we should have tried hard to effect this meeting even had we been forced to return to Florence or farther South for winter-quarters, as we supposed would be the case: but to our great comfort Venice is recommended to us on high authority as an admirable situation for Ba: one of the best, indeed: so we trust to pass the cold time there. Now, dearest Friend, where will this plan co-incide with yours? We have a few unforseen expences in England, and must not go unnecessarily out of our way here—but surely you join us at Florence, (if you leave Rome in April as you propose,) or at Bologna, if your stay is prolonged: observe, I say nothing of, what I fancy, impossible meetings—at places where we could go, but you could not—thus, we mean to make a circuit to Sienna, Colle, and Volterra—and another to Lucca, Prato & Pistoja,—returning from one of these excursions to Pisa, (we don’t yet know which one—) and making the other take us to Florence. Do try and concert for us, according to your better knowledge: we need be more economical this year than next, in all probability. But see you we must. So—contrive, dear Aunt Nina! And let dear Geddie help with her counsel!

– Have you not had a horrible catastrophe on the 2d Feb. in your vicinity? I will just say, I knew the wretched man (Angelo Cerutti) very well—who was my Sister’s Master—his Italian Grammar is one of, or rather, the best grammar I know: I saw the account yesterday in “Galignani”—will you endeavour to find out what this “Autobiography” is about? [3] It is in choice Tuscan, I warrant you, for the poor man was most zealous on that head—telling me that he wished Alfieri had never written, since his style was no freer from Gallicisms!

I have just rec’d a note from Mr Kenyon in which he speaks of his pleasure at having recently heard of you, if not from you. Now I shall hand the corner of this over to Ba, for her contribution– God bless you, dearest friend and dear Geddie who is a part of you—come laden with heaps of news of Rome to yours ever most affectionately

R Browning.

[Continued by EBB]

Thanks upon thanks for your most kind & welcome letter, my very dear friend, dearest aunt Nina—we shall meet soon certainly .. shall we not? We have been building plan upon plan, & everything seems to come to the ground except Venice for the winter– Does this sound to you very aerial, or watery rather? Are we likely to bring it to bear? and shall we bear it afterward, do you think? In any case we shall talk over “all things & a few beside” with yourself at Florence– You will be forced to pass through Florence & dear Geddie wont be sorry, I hope. You delight me by what you say of “our poet”—thank you, dearest friend!– He is as well as anyone can be without eating– Yesterday, he & Flush & I had for dinner & supper one pigeon– Flush & I doing the honours of it. Wilson is convalescent & Dr Cook has left an impression on us of his ability & intelligence. Now do write & say how you are, & whether Geddie has recovered from the carnival. God bless you.

Your very affectionate Ba.

Address, in RB’s hand, on integral page: Mrs Jameson, / Dama Inglese, / Piazza di Spagna, 53. / Roma.

Publication: None traced.

Manuscript: California State University, Hayward.

1. Located in the piazza of the same name, this church and palazzo were allocated by Cosimo I when he instituted his Order of St. Stephen in the mid-16th century. The designs of the piazza and its buildings were executed by Vasari.

2. The Brownings left Pisa on 20 April 1847 and travelled directly to Florence. After that their plans changed, and except for an ill-fated five-day journey to Vallombrosa in July 1847, they remained in Florence until July 1848.

3. Vita di Angelo Cerutti con Ragionamenti e Digressioni Morali e Filosofiche da lui scritta e pubblicata lui vivente (Florence, 1846). Presumably the account in Galignani’s was similar to the one in The Athenæum of 20 February 1847, which stated that “a Roman correspondent of a morning paper has communicated some curious particulars relating to the death in that capital of a man of letters, who formerly resided for some years both in London and Paris—where his name may be remembered, perhaps, by some of our readers. ‘Two days ago, the Piazza di Spagna was the scene of a strange transaction. An author of several treatises on educational matters, Angelo Cerutti, after spending the last few months in composing his autobiography—which fills two octavo volumes—and having caused supplies of the work to be distributed for sale at the various booksellers’ shops throughout the city, on the morning of the 2nd inst. ordered a number of bill-stickers to placard all Rome with the title of the said autobiography—“scritta lui vivente:” and while they were executing his job in all directions, he quietly, at noon, blew his brains out’” (no. 1008, p. 202).

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