SD1372. William Wetmore Story to James Russell Lowell
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 15, 365 (in part).
Rome
March 21. 1849.
My dear Jem—
Emelyn has just been reading me her long letter to Maria, in which she has entirely exhausted all external topics of interest, catalogued our movements & doing, and left me only a reaped field to glean. … The Biglow Papers I used to read to convulsed audiences at our weekly “at home” on Sunday eve[nin]gs, giving them as well as I could the true Yankee twang and one ev[enin]g I interpreted in the same tones one of them to the Brownings, who were quite as much amused & delighted as I. … The Brownings & we became great friends in Florence—and of course we could not become friends without liking each other. He, Emelyn says is like you—judge from this portrait. He is of my size but slighter—with straight black hair—small eyes, wide apart, which he twitches constantly together, a smooth face, slightly aquiline nose—and manners nervous & rapid. He has great vivacity, but not the least humor—some sarcasm, considerable critical faculty, and very great frankness—& friendliness of manner & mind. Mrs B is very petite, & resembles in manners & expression Augusta King more than any one else I know. She used to sit buried up in a large easy chair, listening & talking very quietly & pleasantly with nothing of that peculiarity which one would expect from reading her poems. Her eyes are small, her mouth large, she wears a cap & long curls. Very unaffected & pleasant & simple hearted is she, and Browning says “Her poems are the least good part of her.” I talked to them much about you & they seemed to feel a good deal of interest in American writers. …
Publication: BAF, pp. 240–243.
Manuscript: University of Texas.
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