3907. EBB to Henrietta Cook
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 23, 111–112.
London–
Tuesday– [21 October 1856] [1]
My very dearest Henrietta, one word of goodbye– We go tomorrow .. & could’nt, before, being so put upon & pressed upon, & trampled on by affairs of all kinds– After this, I have only fifty autographs to write, [2] —& then, my work is all but done, in the way of writing.
We think we observed that Surtees wears studs sometimes—& so we are encouraged to ask his acceptance of these bits of Florentine malachite, to wear now & then with a thought for us two, his brother & sister, Robert & Ba. Dearest Henrietta, I am so very sorry that the darling little Mary should be unwell. Mind you let me hear how she is, & write to Florence .. which we shall not reach however, in much less than a fortnight, inasmuch as, though we spend a bare day in Paris, if we take the Cornice road from Marseilles, we shall spend a week between that latter place & Genoa– A week, though, of warm climate—warmer than Tuscany .. and I shall be infinitely better & stronger, I dare say, before I arrive– As it is, I am better than I was three days ago—& dont cough at night to the same house-rending extent.
The worst is, that Arabel comes on thursday, & we go on wednesday. If we stayed another day we should have to set off at three in the morning—& that would not answer at all– So we go—& I console myself by thinking of the badness of goodbyes.
“Aurora Leigh” shall be sent to you, [3] —I dare say it will shock you; but you will like a few things, perhaps .... rather!—— I should like you to see some of Peni’s new dresses—blouses .. after the fashion of his velvet blouse. I have nearly ruined Robert with one, two, three, four dresses, .. and heaps of embroidery for trowsers. For two and two pence [4] you get beautiful embroidery—& good for fifteen pence. Never buy it at Taunton. Employ Arabel rather. There’s a new stuff for children’s dresses (boys) called Russell’s cloth, [5] at twenty pence a yard– Two yards make a blouse for Peni—(or two & a half, is it?) Brown—or you can have it black– Also I have been wickedly extravagant for myself,—& employed Robert’s taylor to make me a black cloth jacket. He has made it as no woman could; (One must admit that men can do some things.) so well, that Robert insisted on his making also, the body of my French poplin—& now Wilson insists that I shall never any more bear myself in a dress woman-made. I shall, though .. for my taylor charged fourteen shillings for his work. Only I leave you & Arabel my parting advices, .. that, if you wish to look better than you are made, get a taylor to make you. Several of my friends do this .. being wise, & rich. But seriously, it may be worth while for a cloth body, which you wear through the winter, to pay a little more for a decided advantage like this.
George is here .. & comes in, now & then—dear, dear George. He is very good to me always–
Peni’s love & kiss on kiss to Altham & Mary who wrote such pretty dear letters to him.
May God bless you my beloved Henrietta, & my dear Surtees! I join you both in affection & blessing– Goodbye dearest Henrietta, dearest Surtees, say Robert &
Ba–
Address: Mrs Surtees Cook / Wilton / Taunton.
Publication: Huxley, pp. 260–261 (in part, as 22 October 1856).
Manuscript: Armstrong Browning Library, Altham Archive; and British Library.
1. This letter is postmarked 22 October 1856, a Wednesday.
2. Examples of these autographs, done at the request of Frederick Locker (see letter 3917), can be found at ABL, Amherst, Eton and Scripps. They read: [In EBB’s hand] “With the most earnest wishes for the success of the Woman’s Hospital in New York, from Elizabeth Barrett Browning [in RB’s hand] and Robert Browning. London, October 21. ’56.” The Woman’s Hospital in New York City, founded as a charitable institution in 1855, was managed and staffed by women, though the physicians at that time were all men. It was formed chiefly for the purpose of providing gynecologic surgery for the poor.
3. Henrietta inscribed her copy: “Surtees & Henrietta Cook. The gift of the dear Authoress. Wilton. Decr. 1856.” See Reconstruction, C5.
4. i.e., two shillings and two pence; or twenty-six pence.
5. “A ribbed or corded fabric, usually made with a cotton warp and woollen weft. Commonly called Russell cord” (OED).
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