2729. EBB to Henrietta Moulton-Barrett
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 15, 61–65.
[Florence]
April 22. [1848] [1]
My ever dearest Henrietta, I have your letter, & Arabel’s note, & thank you both as for the best gift possible. But on the other hand, I scold Robert, & think that he really must have lost his senses in a vertiginous movement, when he said in another to you that my Letter to her that day, was the cause of my illness. [2] The truth is purely & righteously, that I did not do myself the least harm in the world by the letter in question—I exclaimed “I have been lying in an awkward position & have tired myself,” & Robert snatched up that phrase, & drew quite a false conclusion from it. Oh, indeed, indeed, it would be very painful to me to think that by any voluntary act (even by writing to you) I had produced that accident– Indeed I did not– You may rely on it that I did not. And then, Dr Harding has said that there was something wrong—that the habit of body was not right, & that nothing but wrong could come of it all. He attended me for a month, & took leave, of course because his continued attendance became unnecessary in his own opinion—desiring me in the last interview to keep up my spirits, for that now the system was tranquillized, & the future offered the best prospects– He repeated too that I had astonished him by the quick rallying .. that it “showed a very uncommon energy of constitution”– He said that to me, to Robert, & to Wilson, all separately—so he meant it– Only .. I am very disappointed—one cant help that. I asked if I might take a little wine .. and Wilson observed that sometimes I seemed low from the want of it, but he would’nt hear of my taking wine, & shook his head to & fro at the idea of my having ever taken it in any proportion. Now do pray observe, .. you people who set your faith upon doctors .. that the wine I took & which very probably did me harm (I agree to that) was taken by the advice of Dr Cook of Pisa, who ladled it out to me in glassfulls by a precise prescription .. Dr Harding did not even close with a proposition of taking milk instead—he seemed afraid of anything over-nourishing or exciting,—& kept saying, .. “moderate sustenance is very well, and in the chief place, air, you must never miss a day in going out in the carriage. It will benefit you more than anything else I can name.” The morphine he considers by far the safest help of the sort, which I can take.— “I assure you it is far safer for you with your tendencies, than wine is.” And I was bid beware of attempting to diminish, except by the slightest degree .. say a drop at a time. “If you do, the effect will be that you will be forced to recur to a still larger quantity than you make use of now.” Pray observe that the morphine is therefore irreproachable!—just as I am, for not calling in a physician before one was actually wanted. What bad symptom had I, pray, before I was thoroughly ill? Not one of any sort. And how could he have known until the event told him, whether port wine was a bad or good thing for me? Well—at any rate there’s no use in retrospections– When last he pushed his knees against my sofa & stared at me through a pair of most aspectable spectacles, he declared that he should not have known me as the same person, who at his first interview lay on the bed, with two black blots for eyes & the circles round them, blotted on a face of white paper– So I have written enough of myself, I think, this time.
Much, much stronger, I am—comparatively quite strong: & with scarcely a pretext for refusing the invitation to a paschal dinner (were you ever invited to such a thing, Henrietta?) at Countess Cottrell’s, & to which the noble count came himself yesterday to invite us. We said that we would pay them all a morning visit .. as the Leys are to be there the last time before their departure to the Baths of Lucca, .. but that I was not strong enough yet for dining out .. and the sitting up straight would be fatiguing, there’s no denying, & it is wiser to refuse as we have done. We shall go for half an hour though, for it was goodnatured of them to wish to have us,—& I shall like to see Louisa before she goes to Lucca, particularly as she was kind enough to walk up our steep stairs the other day to see me. Robert who gave her his arm, thought she never could have got up,—and for ten minutes after, she was breathing as if every breath came in a convulsion. It is asthma, I should imagine. She is much the contrary to being thin, & does not look ill. Her confinement is expected next month, & Sophia’s in august .. so that dear Mr Tulk will have grandchildren on all sides– Yes, he is perfectly good, I think– Robert said the other day, “he felt quite attached to him.” He seems to live in the light of God’s & man’s love—& Swedenborgian or not, he is Christian in the largest sense. The Leys talk of returning to England in the autumn, “for good” as the expression is—& they will finally settle somewhere in the neighbourhood of London. Italy does not suit either of them—though it is impossible to help liking Mr Ley’s frankness & openness, & honesty of mind on all subjects. But he is English in prejudice also, &, not knowing a word of Italian, translates everything into an evil signification as fast as he receives it– They go to Lucca—& Mr Tulk & the Cottrells may follow for a time– You know Lucca is not far from Florence. The latter have a house here (that is, an apartment) for three years, having furnished it– They keep two carriages & see a great deal of company, chiefly Italian perhaps. Mr Tulk’s conclusion as to expenses is that a francesconi (4s–6d) goes as far as a guinea in England—that’s his calculation. He says, the cheapness strikes him as quite ludicrous—so you see, I have not exaggerated matters. What a beautiful house the Hedleys might have, & combine the ends of health & education for the children! I fear they will suffer from our republic, which by no means satisfies me, for one, in its ways of going on. Why, surely Arabel must have forgotten me if she fancies that I have gone deeper into a certain class of opinions since my marriage. Use’nt I to call myself to dear Mr Kenyon & others, pray, a “fossil-republican”? [3] And “fossil” it is still, since I dont embrace the French system altogether. In France, there is every noble aspiration, there are men of splendid talents & virtues—but the ideas go up like rockets, &, in the midst of our acclamation & admiration, drop down in ashes. Little is consequent & consistent, & still less practically possible. Legislation for the sake of one class, (& that class the most unintelligent & uncultivated) must be bad; & government controuled by mobs & sticks must be unwise. If they went on in their present way of governing, there wd be an end of .. not only trade & peace, but art & literature—& for my part, I would rather live on bread & water than see such a state of things. My idea of a republic is, .. for every born man in it to have room for his faculties– Which is perfectly different from swamping individuality in a mob. Ledru Rollin [4] is more a ‘tyrant’ (as far as he dares) than ever was Louis Phillippe. So that I fear there will be a reaction, & an end of our republic—oh, I fear. As to England, I congratulate you, special constables [5] & all, if it is a subject of congratulation .. but you throw back the cause of liberal progression by all this bravery & righteous horror. You think yourselves so much better off than France was under her last King, & in that, you deceive yourselves wonderfully. There were anomalies in France—injudicious proceedings .. such as the siezure of newspapers occasionally, when they nearly always talked naked treason! You ought to have read how the newspapers talked in France .. what violent language, what open insults to the King– Injudiciously, therefore, they were occasionally siezed, provoking people to complain of sins against freedom of the press! who were right to complain! but you are not right in imagining that free discussion was denied to them, & granted exclusively to you. Then, the French wanted better representation in parliament, just as you do—and they wanted the right of meeting in monster-crowds in a city just as your chartists do:—and they did not want, as poor England does, the abrogation of hereditary legislators, primogenitural heirdoms, & foolish wicked abuses of that sort– Property was more equitably divided, & class was less widely severed from class– So tell Arabel that, with my best love—& dont all of you be too triumphant because your “specials” have come home ‘with their shields’ instead of ‘upon them’! [6] True it is at this moment, that England is less free than the rest of Europe, with few exceptions—though I would rather have dear England so than as France is, I do confess—the “price of blood” has been too heavy there. Robert and I think just alike on most points—but if one of us two goes further than the other, I conscientiously believe it is I– Dont say that I say so, though! Sometimes, in joke, I call him an aristocrat .. I cry out “à bas les aristocrats” [7] —because he really cares a good deal about external things, .. perhaps it is an artist’s sense of grace that he has, only that I choose to make fun of it. For instance about houses, & furniture, & horses & carriages, he is far more particular than I ever was or can be– Then I laugh—& then he says it is for my sake. So it may be, & is, ungrateful that I am, .. only that he certainly looks to the things minutely—he has a feeling about them, not altogether Spartan.
We continue our drives & enjoy them, but have not yet fashioned our plans yet– Be sure that, if God spares the obstacle, we shall in all cases be in England next spring– Ah and if you think that because Robert is perfect to me, I never wish for you, dearest things, you are wrong, wrong, wrong! I do wish, I do long for you—it is a great drawback not always to be with you. But we must contrive the means of seeing you & being with you more often—trust to us. Did you hear what the Bevans give for their unfurnished house? I am glad about Bummy. It is far better not to live at Leamington by herself, though Tunbridge has an expensive reputation. Kiss dear Occy for me if he will be kissed– [8] You know how oblivious I am of dates of all sorts. Let somebody tell me particularly of Trippy’s feet. Why & how are they worse than usual? Thank her for her loving thoughts, & assure her that they all are paid back out of my heart– Write quickly & tell me minutely of everything. This letter of mine goes sooner than usual & is shorter, .. not the l[e]ast because writing hurts me, .. but because Robert having a sudden occasion of writing home, .. can only allow so much time. Kind of darling Arabel, to send that newspaper– Tell her however, to do so no more, as Robert sees all the papers, & <sees> Galignani’s abstracts from them, & we have to pay, though not heavily– I thank her ten times over. Poor Maria Barrett. If you [9] feel “a little angry” with her husband, there must be some late cause for it– At any rate, his taking advantage of George’s generosity, with a full knowledge of his circumstances, strikes me as most unworthy. Tell me more of them. I pity Maria from my soul. Here is Robert waiting for my letter—it’s more a note than a letter but it must go–
Loves to all—to all–
Your own
Ba–
I cant read it over! it must go.
Is Minny still better– Love to her & mention Crow & the children–
Robert’s dear love– Did’nt he say Arabel? Always he calls her so to me– He must have been bewitched. Love to everybody—Cooks & all–
Address, on integral page: To the care of Miss Tripsack / (Miss Barrett) / 12. Upper Gloucester Street / Dorset Square / New Road.
Publication: Huxley, pp. 83–84 (in part).
Manuscript: British Library.
1. Year provided by EBB’s references to the revolution in France.
4. Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin (1807–74), minister of the interior in the provisional government, ran unsuccessfully for president in 1848 as the Radical candidate. In 1849 he was involved in a plot to overthrow Louis Napoleon, after which he fled to London. He is credited with helping to bring about universal male suffrage in France.
5. “Peace officers appointed to act on occasional emergencies when the ordinary police force is thought to be deficient” (EB). EBB refers to the Chartist demonstration mentioned in the preceding letter (see note 6).
6. Plutarch tells how a Spartan mother handed her son his shield as he departed for battle, with the injunction to return “Either this or upon this” (Moralia, 241, 16, trans. Frank Cole Babbitt). In this and subsequent quotations from, or references to, Greek and Latin classical authors, the citations are from the Loeb Classical Library unless otherwise indicated.
7. “Down with aristocrats.”
8. For his 24th birthday on 11 April.
9. Underscored three times.
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