SD2124. Harriet G. Hosmer to Frances Anne Kemble
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 24, 270 (in part).
Rome
Dec 10th [1857] [1]
My dearest Mrs Kemble–
Once more I hail you from Rome, the land of the brave & the home of the flea! It is needless to say, as I speak in the first person very singular, that I arrived with life & limb because as Baley, our old dearest friend, would observe, it is a self evident proposition– Fate & fortune prospered & I was wafted over the ocean with very few internal gales & reached Paris just in time to be too late for Mrs Sartoris by one hour– Was it not cruel? I could have cried, but I knew she was not an Undine, who could rise from a fountain of tears so I crushed my emotions with the philosophy of a “hard hearted stonecutter”—only I am not such a stony hearted stonecutter as I seem after all—& I was not consoled nor reconciled to my disappointment. From Paris I went to Florence direct where I made a most delightful sojourn of a fortnight, not playing all the time but in search of a costume for my Zenobia which I at last found with the help of Prof Migliarini– The Brownings were more enchanting than ever, so utterly kind & everything that was nice, & I can’t resist telling you of a little sfogo which the beloved Robert & I committed. You know all about the Certosa Convent of course, & are aware of the fact, that no-one under immediate petticoat government can enter its hallowed & unhooped precincts– I had an imperious desire & particular reasons for wishing to see the monuments therein by Donatello, Orcagna & San Gallo: I therefore arrayed myself, not like the lilies of the field but in something that had been spun viz a suit of Mr Browning’s clothes & went from the top to the bottom of the monkish domain without exciting the least suspicion as was proved by my being ushered into the cells of the monks where either the occupants or I should have been relieved of our heads had the frailty of my corporeal vessel been discovered. I saw there many exquisite things which every artist should see & which having seen he could never forget. Arriving in Rome I very soon saw the Miss Berties who plied me with questions concerning you & to whom I delivered your letter & we immediately formed the plan which has resulted in the contents of this envelope. They are very well and always so nice: I get fonder & more fond of them every year & they are as loyal to you as the sun is to the heavens. I have begun a small model for a Fountain while I am inwardly digesting my Zenobia & when it is cast I shall have it photographed & send you one with the rest. I have made inquiries about the marble copy of the Minerva & find it would cost $500 but it would be the size of the Ceres of the Vatican which is of a bella Grandezzo & would be very fine. A few inches more or less makes no difference in expense as the difficulty is in reducing from the original: the work on the statue after it is blocked out is almost the same large or small & the effect of size is desirable.
As to ever having a studio of my own I do not seem to be nearer it than I was five years ago: Mr Gibson seems inclined to have me remain in my old quarters & it is very difficult to leave him but I am trying to get one or two rooms attached to the studio for the members of my family are crying for more space. I find the marble for my monument quite perfect & everything prospering—by next year when you see Rome I shall have the pleasure of showing you San Andrea. Now dear Mrs Kemble goodbye– Give my best love to Sarah if she is still with you & don’t forget me but hold me ever
Yr aff. [sketch of a Hat]
Publication: None traced.
Manuscript: Folger Shakespeare Library.
1. Year determined from Miss Hosmer’s reference to Zenobia, which she was conceiving in 1857 for execution in 1858 and 1859.
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