4087. EBB to Euphrasia Fanny Haworth
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 24, 201–202.
Florence.
Wednesday. October 28. [1857] [1]
My dearest Fanny, I am writing just a line while Robert goes to Philipson’s to see if he can relieve you. [2] There is a letter of mine at Genoa meanwhile, [3] to tell you that my precious Peni was well again, & that his Italian nurse who had the fever at the same time, was perfectly over it also. Not a curl of the child’s head is touched, I thank God,—& except that we give him steel-pills [4] & take more care of him than usual, there is no consequence of the alarm & misery of those days at Lucca.
And now for you, poor dear Fanny—how sorry I am! It all looks too much like Italy’s disagreeing with you, I fear—only that so much difficulty & anxiety & separation from sympathy would be sure to disagree with you in any climate– My Genoese letter told you that we still talked of Rome, Rome– If we go, it will be at the ultimate end of November at soonest, however– You lose with my letter no advice, for I did not dare to give it– We ourselves fluctuate in our own intentions so much, that we have no sort of anchorage for anybody else, observe. Your old rooms in this house are occupied by Mrs Jameson!—who complains of them incessantly, but is not likely to leave them for a month or two–
The villa party, augmented by Lytton, goes on as usual—& Robert & I & Mrs Jameson passed an evening there, to meet the younger Trollopes, two days since, very agreeably. Isa was quite broken up by the adversities & fatigues of Lucca & has been by no means well—but she is better & begins to look so– Robert went out to ride with Annette yesterday for the first time since our return three weeks ago. As for me I have been driving, & reading German in the Hahn-Hahn, [5] & hearing Peni’s lessons, & enjoying more repose than I have had for many weeks or months rather.
Have you heard that “Mrs Le Vert’s Book” is “out.” [6] I tremble in my fur-shoes– N.B. one can wear fur-shoes at Florence in October.
Also, Mrs Newton Crosland is here. [7] She comes (& goes on to Rome) as chaperone to a young lady, [8] —having taken the engagement never to speak to her of ‘the spirits’– Count Ginnasi was at this house last night, biologizing– Not a word more– Do take care of yourself dearest Fanny till we see you soon– Your ever
affectionate Ba–
Publication: None traced.
Manuscript: Fitzwilliam Museum.
1. Year provided by EBB’s reference to letter 4083.
2. EBB explains Fanny Haworth’s predicament in the third paragraph of letter 4089.
6. Octavia Walton Le Vert (1810–77), Souvenirs of Travel (2 vols., Mobile, Alabama, 1857). She called on the Brownings at Casa Guidi on 24 May 1855 (with a letter of introduction, probably from Miss Haworth) and saw them again a few days later at a soirée given by Mrs. Kinney. For Mrs. Le Vert’s account of these two meetings (as published in Souvenirs), see SD1823 in volume 21.
7. Camilla Crosland (née Toulmin, 1812–95), whose Light in the Valley: My Experiences of Spiritualism was published in July 1857.
8. Unidentified.
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