4108. EBB to Henrietta Cook
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 24, 233–237.
Florence–
Christmas-Day and Dec. 30– [1857] [1]
I owe you a letter, my dearest Henrietta, and I just now have one from my dearest Arabel—so I join both of you in this sheet which will find you together at Bryngwyn—for I must write a few lines on this Christmas Day thinking of you both, loving you all, dear Storm & all of you, & praying God, as I do from the bottom of my heart, to bless & love you each one. Our Christmas day here is not merry, except for our Peni who is overjoyed with his gifts & all the rest. As the spirits are said to see the things of the earth through the eyes of the embodied, so do I through his blue eyes see these Christmas joys. He is so glad .. it is nearly enough for me. Let me count up his presents—a sword (which he had bespoken from me .. it is my gift!) with a “blade dazzling to look at” .. (his words in bespeaking it–): a great box of tools, with carpenter’s bench, complete,—(this was Robert’s gift)—and a book, a Robinson Crusoe [2] .. (this was given by both of us–) Then Fanny Haworth gave him a theatre, with puppets. And Isa Blagden, gold buttons for his sleeve-wrists, and Annette Bracken, a silver-pencil case, with his initials at one end:—and his friend Emilio del Bene [3] (the music-master’s little boy) a duet decorated with a blue back & inscription,—and his other friend Alessandro [4] writes him a French letter on beautiful paper, & full of compliments, which Peni considers “most pretty”– Altogether, you see, the gifts shower, justifying those numerous white specks on his thumb-nails, [5] which he has been counting so long, poor darling!–
Tuesday– [6] I write on, taking up the thread– Isa Blagden & Fanny Haworth dined with us on Christmas Day, & Annette Bracken & Mr Lytton came later in the evening. Mrs Jameson was engaged elsewhere, & we had no one else– Oh yes, .. my particular friend Mr Jarves who has not a very happy home of his own, [7] & with whom aside I had a little spiritual talk– It was all dull enough .. that is as I felt it—and poor Isa, who had heard of the death of a dear friend only a few days before, [8] wore a black gown for the occasion, & was sadder even than I, perhaps– Peni had the glory of “showing off” in music, & played the “Carnaval de Venise” [9] with variations, his last labour, .. which he is particularly proud of because of certain modern tricks of hand used in it, very difficult to those little fingers, & which (though his master proposed to omit them at first—) he has at last completely conquered. They are rapid running passages, produced by sweepings of the finger, & very effective,—I assure you,—and though Robert talks disparagingly of such “mere tricks” he bears with Peni (Liszt) & me who think the effect sublime–
That I thought of you all I need not say—no, I need not– I am so glad Alfred has returned in time to be with you– [10] I was, in spirit, tell Storm–
Two evenings later, Peni had his own particular “festa” in his own particular rooms– You must know that Peni’s idea for a festa is to have an illumination .. and you English people would have opened your eyes on the spectacle which met Robert’s & mine, when we were invited to see the great sight– Hundreds of little wax torches were stuck all over the high stove & walls, all ablaze, with strings of pictures, rows of toy-soldiers– You never saw anything so fantastic—really pretty, & quite absurd!– Peni & his boy-friends, keeping guard with drums & guns & swords– Wilson & her baby, & a heap of Italian girls .. (invited by Peni) standing by in admiration—& a table spread out with cakes & oranges & tea & wine!—of course we thought it wonderfully beautiful– Peni’s whole imagination had been concentrated on this great idea for a month back!–
Oh—and, talking of Peni, let me remember to tell you that he considers also still more weighty subjects– He told us at breakfast the other morning (I think in relation to Wilson’s baby) that he should like very much to have a little boy of his own– But .. oh, dear, me!—he must wait so long, so long!– “Dont you think, dear papa & mama, that in about twelve years, I might be married––just tell me–” We answered very gravely that certainly he might, but that it would be necessary to be very industrious in those twelve years, & get a good deal of wisdom into his mind before he entered on such an undertaking. Which he assented to, between the bites of bread & butter–
My darling Arabel’s letter lighted me up like Peni’s tapers—but I am not easy about her ear .. nor about the remedies prescribed. I know so well that the fault is in constitutional debility that I mistrust such weakening remedies– How strange that Arabel who believed in homœopathy has now thrown it over– In all chronic affections, the allopathists are impotent, I believe– In pleuresies & fevers I would go to them, but for the constitutional & chronic affections, the homœopathists are infinitely superior—in fact, they can do something. Blisters are very weakening things, it seems to me—at least a course of blistering is– Still, they may be necessary– I am not so conceited as to decide against an aurist, tell Arabel, not quite—only I do hope she will be careful of herself. Let her avoid exposures to cold at Bryngwyn– I used to say that she fancied herself deaf, when I was in London– Certainly never for a moment did I perceive any deafness—not the slightest, in her–
It is very pleasant to think of you all tied up in a nosegay of love at Bryngwyn for this Christmas– May God be with you now & always. Bryngwyn must be beautiful, from your description,—and I dare say the rides & walks about the place are full of attraction. Altham & Mary must be well-amused– By the way Peni comes to ask whom I am writing to, & sends to them quantities of loves & kisses– He has got to read German & to translate quite nicely– I am vain of him. He grows too in the body, & we have had to lengthen his black velvet blouse of last winter. Also, we have made him a very pretty over-coat of grey cloth trimmed with black velvet—it is quite pretty, with his black velvet hat & feathers– Then we have a new velvet jacket for him to wear on sunny days instead of the coat,—for the extravagance of which Robert has a little reproached me– I can return the reproach however,—seeing that he (Robert) has insisted on my having a black velvet jacket for myself made by his tailor, which has cost five pounds!—really too much, for any reason. It will be useful enough—though I have not worn it yet,—but I always grudge such things– Tell me—do you & Arabel give in, or rather give out, to the hoop-decrees? I have a regular hoop-petticoat, & sweep out into an excess of majestic circumference, much to Robert’s satisfaction & Mrs Jameson’s displeasure—but after all it is not an ungraceful fashion, though I hesitated before taking the plunge–
You cant think how well Wilson is looking, & the little babe too. The image of her that child is. She is going to have it baptised a protestant here, .. that is by the minister of the church of England, [11] —& there will be no difficulty in the matter, it appears to me– Ah—how sorry Arabel will be for Florence when she hears that since I wrote last, we have lost our good admirable friend Mr Hanna– [12] He was siezed with gastric fever, and, weakened previously by his lung-disorder, could not struggle, and so we lost him. Robert was chief-mourner at the funeral– Until the last day he would not believe in his own danger .. told Mr Stuart that he felt he should live, though the doctors believed otherwise: on the last day however he addressed his Italian servants, & made arrangements of his English affairs, with the utmost quiet & clearness of mind– He gains by his removal much,—but the gap left, it will be very difficult to fill. A large body of Tuscan protestants relied on him for advice & protection with the government,—and, from his temperance[,] mildness and wisdom he had influence both with friends & opponents to the protestant cause– They are to have out, I believe, some other member of the Free Church of Scotland,—but Robert & I talk of attending the Swiss Church rather, for the future– [13] Peni will understand most of the French, I think—nearly as well as he used to understand Mr Hanna, & perhaps better– In the meanwhile he has been attending the vesper musical services in the Catholic churches—they are beautiful at this Christmas time– You know I am not sectarian,—and it always strikes me that for young children these Catholic services are peculiarly adapted, in their external appliances– If you had heard Peni begging & praying me to let him “sit up & see Jesus born” .. by which he meant, to be allowed to go & watch past twelve oclock on Christmas Eve in the chief church here, where there is music, & precisely at the hour a child of wax is let down on the altar through clouds of incense– I would willingly have sent him—but it was cold & late & the crowd immense, & he had to be refused, poor Peni– Annunciata did not return till two in the morning—and one gets afraid of fever from exposure, in these times– Peni is very well, very rosy,—indeed quite fat– I had a quarrel with him last night for being impertinent with Annunciata– How, .. do you suppose? Why, he criticises her Italian—tells her she is a Lucchese, & he a Florentine, & he cant bear such bad speaking?– On the whole however Peni is much more good than he used to be,—more attentive to his lessons, more yielding & gentle to his playfellows–
When you write, tell me of your children– I care so much for those little details about them, such as I send you.
Hume has not arrived yet, & perhaps will not come after all–
I send you all round, you Bryngwyn people, quantities of kisses & loves. Here Mrs Jameson comes, & I cant write a word more or read over! Arabel did not speak of Minny– Dearest Henrietta’s
ever attached Ba–
Address: Angleterre– / Mrs Surtees Cook / Bryngwyn / Oswestry / Salop.
Publication: Huxley, pp. 286–287 (in part).
Manuscript: British Library.
1. Year provided by postmark.
2. An 1853 edition with illustrations by George Cruikshank, inscribed by EBB: “From papa and mama to their dearest Penini—Christmas Day, 1857—Casa Guidi.” This volume sold as lot 606 in Browning Collections (see Reconstruction, A770).
3. In April 1858 EBB describes him as twelve years old.
4. A few months later, EBB describes him as “more than eleven years old” (letter to Arabella, 12 April [1858], ms at Berg). In June 1862, he visited Pen in London, much to the surprise of RB, who wrote to Isa Blagden: “Just think of little Alessandro, the red-headed boy Peni liked so to play with, coming here on a visit,—to his grandmother who lives at Highgate!” (19 June 1862, ms at BL). We have been unable to trace any further identification of Alessandro.
5. Sometimes called gifts, “supposed to portend a gift” (OED).
6. 29 December.
7. James Jackson Jarves and his wife, Elizabeth, known as Libby, were not getting along. Francis Steegmuller points out that in Jarves’s recent publication, Why and What Am I?, Libby (referred to as Russell, her middle name) is unkindly portrayed. On 27 May 1858, Jarves gave his wife an ultimatum: “I now inform you that unless the system of contumely, insult & entire disregard of myself as the head & support of this family … which is even more actively sustained by your daughter, is speedily ended, I shall … separate myself wholly from you” (The Two Lives of James Jackson Jarves, New Haven, Conn., 1951, p. 162).
8. The “dear friend” was her half-sister, Mary Rebecca Newcomen (see letter 4107, note 3).
9. Franz Liszt (1811–86), Variations sur Le Carnaval de Venise (1843), after Paganini.
10. In his journal, Surtees Cook reports that Alfred is due to arrive from China “today” (Surtees, 17 November 1857).
11. Henry O’Neill (see letter 3533, note 9) baptised Pylades Francesco Romagnoli on 3 January 1858 at the English chapel on Via del Maglio.
12. Rev. Robert Maxwell Hanna (1821–57) died on 19 December. He was buried in the English Cemetery, Florence.
13. Murray’s Handbook for Travellers in Northern Italy (1858), lists “a Swiss Church … next to the Casa Schneiderf, on the Lung’arno, where the service is performed in French in the morning, and in English in the afternoon, according to the form of the Scottish Church” (part II, p. 522).
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