409. EBB to Hugh Stuart Boyd
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 2, 294–295.
[Hope End]
Wednesday. [April 1831] [1]
My dearest friend,
As Mrs Boyd says that you wish me to write soon & be as explicit as I can, I will write to you immediately: but as to being explicit, how can I attempt to explain what I do not understand? I might as well try to explain Lycophron, [2] whom, you know, I never even tried to understand!– I will tell you what I have heard; but I ought to tell you first, that upon anything I have heard, it is impossible to rely—much less upon everything.
The Land surveyors or measurers or whatever they may be, are said to have said that the fat gentleman with the rings, will return from London in the course of a few days,—for what purpose nobody knows. The fat gentleman himself is said to have said that “the place is to be sold”—& that he was appointed by a counsellor to take possession. [3] It is reported that he even desired a neighbouring farmer who is sometimes employed here, to plough our hopyard. [4] The farmer would not do it, with Papa’s own order, and applied to him for it. His answer was “Do as you please”;—& this not being considered sufficiently distinct, the fat gentleman’s intended ploughing is still unperformed. None of Papa’s people are employed in the fields as they usually are at the present season. They are all threshing out the grain, & getting in the wood, for sale– But Papa is so often given to selling, that no conclusion, one way or the other, can be drawn from this. His spirits are very good,—but our knowledge of his extraordinary power of self-command, prevents our trusting even to them. You will easily judge what a state of bewilderment we are in! Every day I expect to hear something decisive; and every night comes, without my having heard it. Today, however, I have heard what is indeed a consolation—that “wherever we are you mean to be near us”. Shall I cut that sentence out of Mrs Boyd’s note, & use it as a “frontlet to my brows.”? [5] I have a great mind to do so. You cannot think how it has relieved me. Going away while you were remaining at Malvern, would have been doubly & triply going away. And yet—(you know unreasonable people like me, are never satisfied) I am inclined to grumble about Annie’s news to Arabel,—that you “have settled not to remain at Malvern”. I am sure I never could like the structure of those words,—until we ourselves were actually packed up. And at present we are in neither bundles nor boxes. Perhaps, after all, all the stories we have heard, with & against our wills, may prove to be stories,—the awful fat gentleman may remove his shadow from us,—the landmarks, some of which, Georgie pulled up two days ago, in a fit of indignation, may be never reinstated,—& you may be settled in the Turkish room in May! And then how should I like to hear of your settling not to remain at Malvern? Why should I think you in a conspiracy with the fat gentleman to make me wish the landmarks back again.
Thursday.
Mr Curzon dined here yesterday, & slept here—& talked a great deal about you. He called your essay on the Greek article “a very masterly performance”; yourself “a most interesting companion”, & afterwards, “a most valuable companion to a minister.” But Papa enquired about your degree of piety; & then his answer was, “Ask Miss Barrett. She knows more about Mr Boyd than I do”. “Oh![”] Papa said “who wd ask her? Why she swears by Mr Boyd”. “Never mind”—Mr Curzon answered. “She knows more about him than I do.” And he would not say anything further then,—but he had told me previously what made him doubt with respect to you. I will tell you when I see you next. It is a mere misunderstanding arising from something which you said, &, I am quite sure, did not mean to apply in the manner he supposed: not anything about science or poetry!——
If we do leave this place, it is most probable that we shall go somewhere near London, on account of Papa’s business there,—certainly not to London,—not improbably to Brighton. Papa has a house at Epsom,—but I believe it is let on a long lease,—happily for those who might otherwise be forced to live in it. Now I have told you everything. Should I have the happiness, when driven from this neighbourhood, to find you in some other,—dont let us be seven miles off again, & obliged to write, instead of talking.
Ever affectionately yours
EBB.
I have just heard that Papa “is very ill, not expected to live”; & that “all servants are discharged except Mrs Robinson, [6] because no one else will go with the family to the West Indies.” Mr Babbage is nothing to some of our inventive neighbours.
Address, on integral page: H. S. Boyd Esqr / Woodland Lodge / Great Malvern.
Publication: EBB-HSB, pp. 124–126.
Manuscript: Wellesley College.
1. Dated by the continuing survey of Hope End, and the possibility of Boyd’s being at Hope End in May. Internal references place this letter after no. 408.
2. Greek poet and grammarian, active in the 3rd century B.C., whose only extant work is the Alexandra.
3. Probably Mr. Reid, of 170 Regent St., London, the mortgagees’ agent.
4. William Kendrick, appointed farm bailiff by the mortgagees’ agent to supervise agricultural affairs at Hope End pending the sale.
5. EBB’s use of quotation marks suggests she was echoing King Lear, I, 4, 189–190.
6. Minny Robinson remained with the Barretts until her death in the 1860’s.
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