3558. EBB to Arabella Moulton-Barrett
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 21, 176–178.
Still Florence–
Thursday. [14 June 1855] [1]
My beloved Arabel,
Here we are again– We have been to Leghorn & come back–
Thus it was– Yesterday we set off as agreed– Arrived at Leghorn at half past one– Took passages on the Corsican steamer which professed to set out at half past four .. went to the inn & the table d’hôte—took boat at four to reach the steamer, & found .. what do you suppose .. that in the fear of a rising wind, or supposed rising wind (there was’nt a breath of air) it had started at half past three .. taking with it our money & passports, & leaving us frantic, of course .. Isa Blagden & her party, & ourselves .. besides an unhappy Florentine baker who positively wept at the misadventure– Penini was the only person pleased.
So, after a proper course of despair, what were we to do? We could’nt recover our money, but if we chose to wait a week, we might go by the same steamer for what we had paid. Otherwise, the money was sacrificed. Now, to stay at a Leghorn Hotel for a week would have been an enormous expense, to say nothing of our unwillingness to have anything more to do with the people of our particular inn who are much suspected of being in league with the Corsican boat to betray us– We therefore retraced our steps to Florence, where we had our own house you see, to go to. Even this, we were hampered in, as, so late in the evening, the train would take us only to Pisa. We had to sleep at the hotel at Pisa therefore, & come on by the seven oclock’s morning’s train. Of course the expense of all this has been great– It will be a loss of nearly four pounds which we can ill afford—to say nothing of all the discomfort. Our luggage is all at Leghorn, to avoid expence—I have’nt a pen or writing-case with me– This is written with somebody’s corkscrew– Horribly tired too I am, & my laughter from the top of my philosophy at all this mischance is somewhat hysterical– Penini who was frightened out of his wits about the boat “hoping that Dod would tate tare of us,” says we had much better go by the land now, “the sea is such a velly gleat tlouble”–
The melancholy state of Casa Guidi you may suppose, but happily the carpets were not all taken up & the curtains down, as I half expected. I did’nt think to be so little pleased at getting back to my Florence.
This does’nt look like my writing, does it?
Did I tell you last year about the viscomtess St Amaro [2] (he was the Brazilian minister to Turin, & is just re-appointed to Naples) & she has a wonderful mesmeric faculty. I forget if I told you that we knew her here.– In the train yesterday, most curiously we met them—& I had a great deal of most interesting conversation about Hume whom she saw in London. They offered him money, which he refused. Last year she had disbelieved in the spirit-manifestations—but Hume had astounded her on that head. Yet she had not seen as much as Mr Jerves. She said she could’nt—she felt the need of stopping short—she thought it was enough to drive many persons mad. (Yes—people, ill-instructed as to the nature of the spiritual world.)
I wish you would let dear Mr Kenyon know about this delay & its cause. Next wednesday we try again– I expect to find a letter from you dearest dear Arabel at Paris– Robert’s best love,—with mine to everybody. Speak particularly of papa–
Can she read this? I speak to myself, not to you–
Your own Ba—
Address, on integral page: Miss Barrett / 50 Wimpole Street.
Publication: EBB-AB, II, 153–154.
Manuscript: Gordon E. Moulton-Barrett.
1. Dated by EBB’s references to the Brownings’ foiled travel plans. In the 12 June section of letter 3556, EBB told Arabella: “We sail tomorrow” (i.e., Wednesday, the 13th).
2. Ana Constança (née Caldeira Brant, d. 1896), wife of João Carlos Pereira de Almeida (1806–66), 2nd Visconde de Santo Amaro. Their names, without a direction, appear in the Brownings’ second joint address book (AB-4) in EBB’s hand. In his “Preface” to Footfalls on the Boundary of Another World (Philadelphia, 1860), Robert Dale Owen writes: “To an excellent friend and former colleague, the Viscount de St. Amaro, Brazilian Minister at Naples, I shall ever remain debtor for having first won my serious attention to phenomena of a magneto-psychological character and to the study of analogous subjects. It was in his apartments, on the 4th of March, 1856, and in presence of himself and his lady, together with a member of the royal family of Naples, that I witnessed for the first time, with mingled feelings of surprise and incredulity, certain physical movements apparently without material agency.” (p. [v]).
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