4490. Sophia Landor to RB
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 26, 302–304.
Tachbrooke Leamington
Septr 15th 1859
My dear Sir
I know not how to thank you either on my own behalf or that of my Uncles for the great kindness & consideration evinced in your last letter received a week ago. I will only say we are deeply sensible of yr goodness, & that my Uncles are more than satisfied with the explanation you give regarding the money entrusted to you for their Brother’s benefit: it is precisely what they wished & intended, & by far the best, if not the only plan to secure their object, viz their Brother’s comfort: there is but one objection to it & that is the trouble it will entail upon you; but I will say no more on this point. We rejoice to hear that my Uncle so readily falls into your plans & that you have the satisfaction of seeing your kind efforts produce the desired effect on his happiness. I can well imagine that he is deeply touched by your goodness; the soothing effects of which must be peculiarly grateful after the many months of painful excitement he has experienced. Mr Forster has been so good as to write to me concerning the 25£ forwarded by my Cousin Mr Robert Landor: last week I had an interview with my Cousin & he then told me about it: it was a good natured mistake on his part: I had requested him not to forward money without further intimation from me, but not hearing for some time & fearing my Uncle wld be emb[ar]rassed for want of money & displeased at receiving no reply to the application he had made, my Cousin kindly sent the 25£ on his own responsibility. I am glad my Uncle mentioned it to you, it will enable you to get a little beforehand & to place a few pounds in the Bank ready for any emergency. The 50£ for the ensuing quarter will be forwarded to Mr Forster this week, as my Uncle Henry is going from home for a short time. I shall be most happy to receive any statements of expenditure you like to send, it will be no trouble to me: my Uncles only wish you to understand that you are not required to render any account of money which they entrust to you with entire confidence, convinced that you will carry out their wishes in whatever way may seem best at the time, & feeling truly grateful that their Brother’s comfort is so judiciously cared for. It is the greatest possible relief to them & they are glad that the allotted sum appears to you sufficient. (Shld it not prove so, you will remember my last letter, otherwise, you will oblige me by forgetting it).
It is with great reluctance I venture to trespass yet farther on your kindness, I beg you not to imagine we are disposed to encroach unduly upon it; when I have explained the case, I think you will see the importance of it. It is most desirable my Uncle Walter shld be induced to make a short Will for the purpose of revoking any other Will that may exist, for the following reason. During the time of his great intimacy with the Yescombes [1] they induced him to make a Will, or rather they made one for him, which they kept in their own possession. As soon as the quarrel occurred my Sister [2] persuaded my Uncle to send for that Will & she staid in his house until the messenger returned, which was not till after considerable delay; however a packet was brought & put into my Uncle’s hands & he at once threw it into the fire without the least examination. At that time our suspicions were not so much aroused as they have since been, & when, a few weeks later, another Will was made, no one thought of the necessity of revoking all former ones: subsequent events have lead us to suspect the possibility of the first Will being still in existence. Besides this motive, it is desirable the 2nd Will shld be revoked, as it relates to property which has since been disposed of. It now becomes evident that all these grievous troubles have arisen out of my Uncle’s sad habit of boasting & exaggeration, which excited the cupidity of the Yescombes & caused them to endeavour to make him their prey. So convinced are they that he is possessed of valuable property that they will credit no assertions to the contrary, but are determined to sift everything to the uttermost, & if such a Will as the one now in this house remained uncancelled, it might cause infinite trouble. I will enclose the Draft of a short Will, which in this country wld be sufficient, when duly executed; perhaps you will be so good as to ascertain whether any other forms are necessary in Italy. If you will also have the kindness to induce my Uncle to fill it up & then return it to me, my Uncle Henry will have the Will properly drawn out, in Duplicate & again send it to Italy to be duly executed; by so doing we shall prevent risk of legal informality. You will observe that Mrs Yescombe, as Creditor, will have prior claim to any Legatee, therefore the less property my Uncle bequeaths, the better; the chief object being to do away with former Wills & to appoint Executors who will be able at once to answer all claimants. Our Cousin, Mr Robert Landor, has consented to be named as one of the Executors, if my Uncle approves; but as in all probability he will end his days in Italy & all his little property will be there, it is very desirable that some one residing in that country shld be appointed, who wld be ready to act upon the spot. [3] May we hope that you or some other competent friend residing near, will be kind enough to undertake the office. It is recommended that a duplicate of the Will be made, so that one may be sent to England, the other remain in Italy. My Uncle Henry will see that all is properly drawn out, if you will be so good as to return the Draft, when it is filled up.
My letter has unavoidably extended to so great a length, I will add but little more, but I cannot refrain from saying that it gives us sincere pleasure to hear of Mrs Browning’s returning health. My Uncle Henry desires to join me in respectful regards to yourself & kind love to my Uncle Walter, Believe me to remain
Gratefully & Sincerely Yrs
Sophia Landor
Address: Robert Browning Esqre / Siena / Tuscany.
Docket, in RB’s hand: No. 3. Will.
Publication: None traced.
Manuscript: Yale University.
1. From early summer of 1856 to May 1857 at Bath (see R.H. Super, Walter Savage Landor, New York, 1954, pp. 435 and 440).
2. Catherine Mary (“Kitty”) Landor (1817–92).
3. The author’s file copy reads: “… who wld be able at once to take possession of the little that may be bequeathed & so act upon the spot” (ms at Huntington).
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