4673. RB to Isa Blagden
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 28, 14.
[Rome]
[19 May 1860] [1]
Dearest Isa,
Your pleasant piece of loving kindness makes my heart swell & my hand itch to tell you so. See what I have copied out from “Punch”—capital! [2] And I send a stripe of Mr Fox’s writing [3] —all this, to make my own poor letter worth taking in. [4] We shall soon be setting our faces homewards [5] —the weather is delicious, Ba is pretty well, my two tortoises are browsing their lettuce-leaves, and we’ve seen the worst of the year, I do hope. Hatty has arrived, after rather a long voyage, and wrote to Miss Cushman before she knew how the poor father was. I saw Gibson two days ago, looking well: here beginneth a story of Gibson: two artists had been discussing religion, and, says one to the other,—“A pretty fellow, you, to talk about it—I’ll bet you a dollar you can’t repeat the Lord’s Prayer!”—“Done” replies his friend and begins “How doth the little, busy Bee, Improve each shining hour” [6] … “There’s your money” rejoins the first—“I didn’t expect you could say it!”—Somebody tells this to Gibson, who enjoys it and adds—“Yes—you see,—he believed Williams [7] could not say it—Yes!” Tell Miss Field, with my love, that the American reviews, judging by what we have seen as yet, are generous & appreciative even beyond my expectation.– Here I must end, except in my heart—which goes on bidding God bless you, my own Isa.
Yours affectionately ever,
Robert Browning.
Publication: B-IB, pp. 352–354.
Manuscript: Armstrong Browning Library.
1. Dated by RB’s references to seeing Gibson “two days ago.” In letter 4671 EBB mentions seeing Gibson “yesterday.”
2. A parody of EBB’s “Napoleon III in Italy”; see letter 4656, note 17.
3. A review of EBB’s Poems Before Congress; see letter 4656, note 3.
4. Neither enclosure has remained with the letter.
5. The Brownings left Rome on 4 June 1860.
6. Isaac Watts, Divine Songs (1715), Song XX, “Against Idleness and Mischief,” lines 1–2.
7. Penry Williams (see letter 4562, note 2).
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