3007. EBB to Arabella Moulton-Barrett
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 18, 26–30.
[Paris]
[Postmark: 18 February 1852]
My beloved Arabel This is a letter quite out of turn, but I want to say particularly that Robert has directed his Shelley to be sent with his best love to George. We have only six copies to give away, or you should have one for yourself—but you will read George’s .. & I dont think you will care a bit about the “Letters,” which in truth are by no means interesting, & Robert’s part is a mere preface, as you will see. He thinks very lightly of it himself—but the occasion admitted of nothing more.
We have been a little uncomfortable the last day or two about our darling Peninni. Do you remember my telling you of his supernatural laughters in the middle of the night which I laughed at Wilson for being frightened at? Well .. that was in my last letter. But the night before last, he had a return of it, & I hearing him in my room, got up & went to his & did’nt like it at all. It certainly is not natural laughter—he struggles against it, little angel, & it seems to catch him in his throat from his stomach, & he kicks out as if it were a slight convulsion—exactly hysteria it is, .. only very slight of course. His face looked excited, red yet not flushed, .. for he was not in the least feverish apparently (not hot) & his eyes looked like blue stars. When we said, “Why do you laugh? Dont laugh, darling—go to sleep.” he said sadly, “Peninni non bene, [1] Mamma”. Then after a few minutes there was another strange laugh– Certainly it is a species of hysteria, .. He had it again last night, just as he was going to sleep .. upon which we were really frightened (I was at least) & sent out & got him a dose of castor oil & immediately administered it. In the daytime he is perfectly well to all appearance, in the highest spirits .. (oh, far too high his spirits are—there’s the truth—he is too excitable a child) running, dancing, singing, acting Punch .. we try to keep him quiet & cant. Ask Minny if she ever heard of such a thing as that sort of hysterical affection in young children of his age. And do you know, Arabel, I think I will ask you to write these facts to Mrs Jago, & get her to say what Mr Jago thinks of them. The child is cutting two double teeth, one of them just breaking the gum .. you can see the white corner through. Probably this has something to do with the affection. I am going to write myself very soon to Trejago, but I wont wait till I can do so at length to ask this question I should like you to ask for me– Do Arabel. The child is mine, & I dare say people often think when I speak of him that there is a natural tendency to exaggerate because he is mine. Yet I assure you, I do often & often at the bottom of my heart profoundly & painfully fear lest he should not be meant long for the world, he is so miraculously good & sweet, & has such striking susceptibilities & capacities. Robert is always saying to me .. [‘]‘Do keep that child back—dont encourage him to premature development in that way,” .. and we both try in vain to keep him back. He is an extraordinary child .. extraordinary in every way, .. & I do not exaggerate in saying so. We send him out twice a day, & Paris has appeared to agree particularly well with him. He is as well in this situation as in the country,—close to the “barriere” [2] & among the trees, and he grows very much, & looks stronger, people say. Not one cold has he had this winter—not even a cold in the head. Let me tell you how good he was last night. When he found we were going to give him medecine, he cried a good deal, .. & said, [“]no, Mama—no, Lili– Ina (medecina) no!” But upon its being clear to him that it was in vain & that he must take it, & that we were actually mixing it at the table, he suddenly ceased crying & opened his mouth quite wide to be ready for the inevitable medecine, .. just saying, “Mama—Papa, Peninni buono.” meaning that I was to tell Papa how good he was, .. Robert being in the next room with M. Milsand. Think of a little creature not three years old, attaining to that self-command! making up his mind to it by a real effort of fortitude! When it was all over, he expressed an opinion with an air of great satisfaction, that Papa ought to buy him “a horse” as a reward .. & I do agree that he deserved it, .. dont you?
Arabel, I have seen George Sand. We had an answer to our letter by return of post– Here it is–
Madame,
J’ aurai l’honneur de vous recevoir dimanche prochaine, rue Racine 3. C’est le seul jour que je puisse passer chez moi, et encore je n’en suis pas absolument certaine. Mais j’y ferai tellement mon possible que ma bonne etoile m’y aidera peut[-]être un peu.
Agreez mille remercimen[t]s de cœur ainsi que Monsieur Browning que j’espere voir avec vous, pour la sympathie que vous m’accordez. [3]
George Sand.
Imagine how delighted I was to get this note. We were half in despair .. indeed Robert was whole .. about the result, having heard on all sides that she had a vow against seeing anybody, & probably would take no notice of our letter, even.
Sunday came. “The better day the worse deed,” [4] you will observe on this occasion. Moreover, though the weather was magnificent, the air was rather over-keen for me, and I had the greatest difficulty to persuade Robert to let me go. He wanted to go alone, on the desperate hope of being able perhaps to persuade her to come to see me. But it was a desperate hope—& I represented strongly that if I missed seeing her that time, I should never get over it in this mortal life. Also, the sun shone out like a fire. So I prevailed—put on my respirator, wrapped myself in furs, stuffed a muff into my bonnet, & was shut up with Robert & Wiedeman & Wilson in a close carriage .. everybody gasping for breath in my service. I coughed going down the stairs—that was the worst part of it—but the enterprise did me no harm at all. As Robert says, “Very imprudent things seldom do any harm.”
In Rue Racine, we left Wilson & Baby in the carriage, … Baby observing to Wilson afterwards in a complaining voice, .. “Papa e Mamma, poeta,—Peninni, no” … we had gone to see the poet, & he had’nt!——poor Peninni!
We were shown into a small bedroom—a comfortable room enough, but quite without pretension. There was a fire .. & a writing table & desk in the middle of the room—& two or three young men were sitting there. She came forward very cordially with a hand stretched out, and I, with a most natural emotion, took & kissed it .. on which she said “mais non, je ne veux pas” [5] .. and kissed my lips. She is large for her height, .. (she has grown stouter of late years) .. & was very simply dressed in a sort of grey woollen gown & jacket, (after the fashion of the day), a small linen collerette & plain white sleeves—not a shred of ribbon or embroidery anywhere. Her hair was uncovered—twisted back with evident care, .. the black glossy bandeaux divided on the forehead very smoothly. The dark eyes & brow are extremely fine, the nose long, of a Jewish character, & the mouth by no means good .. large, & full of large white projecting teeth. The chin rather recedes. The complexion is of the deepest olive—the cheeks are over full, and it is chiefly in that respect, I dare say, that she has lost something from time. But she never could have been a beautiful woman, .. which surprised me a good deal—the type does not admit of her having ever been beautiful. Robert agrees with me in this exactly, & adds that, except for the increase in stoutness, he should think she remains much as she ever was. I sate there wondering how she could look in men’s clothes– I really cant fancy it–– We stayed with her three quarters of an hour or more, & during that time she conversed, chiefly on politics, with a low, rapid voice, without emphasis or even much modulation– Her manners are peculiarly simple—without a shadow of affectation or consciousness– It struck me that in the very excess of quietness, there was a touch of scorn—there was scorn even while she spoke in pity & sorrow of the misfortunes of her friends. She was giving directions & writing letters for the young men present, all of them listening to her with the profoundest respect, & excellent practical sense distinguishing what she said. As Robert observed, she seemed to be the man of the company, & everybody seemed to know it. She showed her confidence in us by naming names & stating facts before us, just as if she had known us for a hundred years .. & when Robert, seeing her so deeply engaged, expressed some scruple upon the propriety of our staying, she said, “no .. she had no political secrets for us” .. “there was nothing we might not hear.” We heard therefore a good deal, .. & though I shall repeat nothing, I may tell you that my own view, as I entertained it from the beginning, is much confirmed rather than modified the other way. You are all wrong in England .. frightfully wrong, immorally wrong, some of you. God keep us from the consequences. M. Milsand was here last night, & observed .. “So ignorant is England of our position, that the democratic-spirit of France will be represented by the government candidates in the elections, and the retrograde parties will be represented by the opposition candidates, while England fancies it’s just the contrary.” I understand that the tone of the English press has excited the army to a fearful extent. I should like to see our dear friend Mr Forster gagged for three months for the sake of the world.
To go back to George Sand, you know she is one of the souls of the ultra republican party, & she came to Paris in order to mediate with the president for certain of her friends. She was grave & depressed, .. but full of candid sense & perfectly appreciating the whole situation, it seemed to me. I should like much to tell you what she said of Louis Napoleon—only Robert declares it would be breach of confidence if I wrote down these things, & perhaps it would. I shall tell you some day notwithstanding.
We are going to see her again– She asked us,—excusing herself, on the ground of her great press of occupation, from returning our visit. She kissed me again, when we went away—& Robert kissed her hand, & she did’nt say to him, “Mais non, je ne veux pas.” Perhaps he hoped she would—with consequences!
Now are you very angry with me for going to see her? Uncle Hedley is, I hear. I hear that he said to somebody the other day, it was “highly improper of me,” & that “indeed Ba knew a great many too many of that kind of people,” .. meaning I dont pretend to know what!–
I have written this in a scribble & a flurry—sentences shaken together while Robert talks. Try to make it out.
Lady Elgin has offered to take him to Lamartine’s. We hear that Lamartine will be very glad to see us, .. but cant possibly comprehend how two poets could marry! So much the worse for him!
God bless you. I have so much to say still & cant say it this time. Write very soon– Best love to dear Trippy & everybody.
Your very own Ba
Address: Angleterre / Miss Barrett / 50. Wimpole Street / London.
Publication: EBB-AB, I, 462–466.
Manuscript: Berg Collection.
1. “Peninni not well.”
2. The Barrière de l’Etoile, the city gate nearest the Brownings’ apartment.
3. For a translation, see letter 3004.
4. Cf. Matthew Henry, An Exposition of the Five Books of Moses, 3rd ed. (1725), Genesis 3:6, gloss 2, referring to the exact day of Adam’s fall: “others suppose he fell on the Sabbath-Day; the better Day, the worse Deed.”
5. “But no, I do not wish it.”
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