[Venice—Friday, 1 November 1889]
Robt Browning came from Asolo to Palazzo Rezzonico, wh. his son has restored and lately occupied. We called on him and he on us, both out, and next day both again called, and we found him & Miss B. in the Pope’s apartment. Said should not stay long, and wished for some Lido walks. His new volume not uniform with the late Complete Edition of his Works of wh we have the only set in Venice—but later, an uniform vol. wd be printed. For all his pains, many errors in the late Edition, wh. being all sold a 2d wd be issued, corrected. He said he had brought with him all the papers, that he might himself correct his daughter-in-law’s copy and that of Mrs. Curtis, of the 16 volumes. He said to her ‘I shall always go on writing as long as I live. I shall die in harness!’ and paused, for her rejoinder, ‘Oh, I hope you will give us many books’—(with a reserved belief that he has printed too much—as he himself said of ‘Ring & Book[’].
