SD1671. William Wetmore Story to James Russell Lowell
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 19, 372–373 (in part).
Bagni di Lucca
Aug 10th 53
My dear James
I was putting the last touches to the life sized model of my Arcadian Boy when your letter was brought to me, by a smiling penny postman in a tawdry chapeau. …
We are all at the Baths of Lucca now—high up in the hills, amid the thick chestnut trees—retired from the bustle of the Ponte below, where gossip simmers round the café—and leading the most dolce far niente of lives. The place is beautiful. All about us tower the mountains, terraced with vines, and noble groups of chestnuts, and through the valley below sings a mountain brook & river as it sweeps under its over arched bridges, turns picturesque mills, and goes winding along through its rocky bed to the Mediterranean. Every eve[nin]g we drive along the picturesque richwooded banks of the wild roaring Lima—or drive beside the rushing Serchio where Shelley used to push his little boat, to the Devils Bridge. I have never lived an idler life. While the wind blows through the windows coolly, we sit and read & fall asleep over our books—and feel intensely virtuous when we achieve a letter. Of society there are none we care to meet but the Brownings who are living here. With them we have constant & delightful intercourse interchanging long eve[nin]gs together two or three times a week & driving & walking together whenever we can meet. We like them very much. They are so simple unaffected & sympathetic. Both are busily engaged in writing. He on a new Volume of Lyrical Poems—& she on a Tale or Novel in Verse. These they would like to make some arrangement to have printed or reprinted in America so as to secure some portion of the proceeds or at least so as to derive some pecuniary benefit from the republication. I suggested the publication of them in America so as to take out a copyright in the name of the publisher & a simultaneous publication in England with a copyright in their own names. They would prefer however to transmit proof-sheets to some house in America giving them the preference of printing. Would Fields make any proposition & what? By the way I was immensely amused to learn from Browning that the claims put forth by Fields to literary consideration in England were that he was the discoverer of Hawthorne. And under that title he was presented to Browning. Was Hawthorne aware of his Columbus? Fields put forth, that Hawthorne being utterly unknown & unvalued, places in his hands the beginning of a manuscript of The Scarlet Letter. Fields reads & divines its excellence,—with prophetic prescience,—encourages H., pats him on the head—says “macte virtute”—and in the most generous & self sacrificing manner proposes that he will print the Romance when written. Sad discouraged unrecognized Hawthorne, thus prompted & encouraged by the Maecenas of Washington so writes his book—& Maecenas Fields magnanimously prints it—& then appearing before the London audience—lays his hand on his heart & says—behold the Columbus of Hawthorne. Browning seemed somewhat to have suspected a rat,—but received Maecenas warmly, wondering at the oily curling whiskers. Suddenly a thought occurred. If this magnanimous Maecenas had thus sacrificed himself & purse for Hawthorne,—if he be so wondrously liberal & generous—perhaps, chi sa, there may be in his pocket one of those long red purses I have seen on the stage, brought over by him for me. So says B—By the way Mr Maecenas—I believe you republished Mrs Brownings poems & mine did you not. Magnanimous M. smiled & stroked his oily curling whiskers & said—somewhat embarrassed—The profits on the first editions you know (waving his hand)—risk of the publisher as you see (another wave). To which B responded Oh! Ah! I understand and B found himself none the better in purse although Maecenas had published his poems. Will he or any one else do anything now? Both B & his wife seemed greatly to have taken to you & Maria & we all join in standing on the ramparts & waving our handkerchiefs for you to return. They go with us to Rome this winter. If you were only to be there also! B tells me that Clough has a position in London as Superintendent of Public Schools or some such office to which he has just been appointed—you having some weeks before told me, that he was settled in Cambridge & dining every Thursday with you. …
I have a great impulse now to take a cigar but as dinner is almost ready I will postpone it. Browning does not smoke; it is his greatest defect—but he tells me that Tennyson does excessively—and that after he got to Florence on his way to Rome, he was so disgusted because he could not find a particular tobacco he liked that he turned back to England & never went to Rome. His brother Frederic is living in Florence having married an Italian wife & B[rowning] says is full of poetry. Lytton by the way is turning up a poet. I saw a couple of poems by him at B[rowning]’s, which were quite full of promise & richness. …
A word or two more dear James. Browning received your letter enclosing Centofanti’s receipt for the rent of Casa Guidi—& I believe it had the effect of utterly smashing C’s credit with Browning. He was much obliged to you for it—and professed shame at not having answered it. In return for your batch of engagement[s] I can tell you of only one. Camilla Bate has married a curiously ugly, dull, young Scotchman by the name of Watson & gone with him to the land of cakes. It is supposed that Mamma Bête & Mac pushed her into this slough of matrimony—on acct of a litte money W had—& they coveted. Pray tell this fragment of news to Anna Loring. She will be interested to hear of the fate of her quondam friend Miss Bate. She was so pretty a Bait, that I thought she would catch a better fish. … Every body here is interested about the moving & rapping tables & the spirit manifestations. What do you make of them. For myself I have as yet seen nothing to indicate spirits but my experience is small. Page however is a complete believer—& receives spirit communications daily—by writing. Sarah P[age] also says she is a medium. Boott is very warmly interested in investigation—and Mrs Browning is hungry for knowledge & information in respect to the manifestations. …
Publication: BAF, pp. 275–283.
Manuscript: University of Texas.
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