Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Her Brother Alfred: Some Unpublished Letters

Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Her Brother Alfred: Some Unpublished LettersAuthor(s): Ronald HudsonSource: Browning Institute Studies, Vol. 2 (1974), pp. 135-160Published by: Cambridge University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25057601 .

Accessed: 28/06/2014 18:18

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Cambridge University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to BrowningInstitute Studies.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 141.101.201.103 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 18:18:38 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=cup

http://www.jstor.org/stable/25057601?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Her Brother Alfred:

Some Unpublished Letters By Ronald Hudson

Alfred Price Barrett Moulton-Barrett, known to his family as

"Daisy," was born at Hope End, Herefordshire, on 20 May 1820, the sixth son and tenth child of Edward and Mary Moulton-Barrett.

He was fourteen years younger than his eldest sister Elizabeth, whose essay, "Glimpses into My Own Life and Literary Character,"

reprinted in pp. 121-33 of this volume, shows that she already "read

Homer in the original with delight inexpressible, together with

Virgil." She had also completed in 1817-18 her first major work

in verse, The Battle of Marathon, which appeared in print, through her father's indulgence, in the year of Alfred's birth. Thus she was

already established as a scholar and a poetess, already somewhat set

apart from her brothers, except the beloved "Bro" with whom she

shared the study of the classics.

Alfred was eleven years old when EBB commenced her 1831-32

diary, in which she recorded in great detail her daily round of

study and reluctant socializing, and it is doubtless an accurate re

flection of the immense gulf between a serious young lady of

twenty-five and her boisterous brother of eleven that the few refer

ences made to him speak only of his "running & having luncheon

on the hills," or riding out or

pigeon-shooting with neighbors

("The most cowardly mean-spirited, no-spirited amusement pos sible. If it had been a

tiger hunt!?"1). When the family settled in London in 1835, after the loss of

Hope End and three years in Sidmouth, Alfred was fifteen, and still

too young to play any significant part in EBB's life. Her health

declined after the move to London, and in 1838 she was sent to

Torquay with her dear "Bro" as constant companion. Her two

sisters were frequent visitors, and most of the other members of

the family also spent time with her. Doubtless Alfred made the

[135]



136 Ronald Hudson

journey, though he was studying at University College, London,

at this time and there is no known evidence of his visiting EBB.

After EBB's return to London, still crushed by the death of

6'Bro" for which she felt responsible through having begged her

father to let "Bro" remain in Torquay, she stayed mostly in her

room, busy with her reading and writing, and shunning all except a few privileged visitors. At this time, Alfred was occupied in the

offices of the Great Western Railway. His exact position and duties

are not known, but it has been established that his name was not

on the GWR payroll; consequently, it is possible that he was ser

ving some form of apprenticeship. One of his surviving sketch-books

contains twenty titled pen-and-ink sketches of young men's heads; all have been identified as clerks serving in the Paddington Station

Accounts Office in the period 1841-47. It is probable, therefore, that he was also in that department.

His occupation there and his social life probably left him little

time for attendance on an invalid, though he undoubtedly paid visits to the sick-room along with the rest of the family. He also

employed his artistic talents to leave us records of several members

of the family, including a pencil sketch, executed in 1843, of EBB

on the sofa in her room, carefully wrapped up, and nursing Flush.

This sketch was first printed in the New York Times on 13 Febru

ary 1971 through the courtesy of Alfred's great-grandson, Edward

R. Moulton-Barrett, Esq.; it is published here as the frontispiece to

this volume. Alfred's talent has also left us the likeness of other

members of the family: his impressions of his sisters Henrietta and

Arabel, his brothers Henry, Septimus, and Octavius, and the "Gov

ernor" are shown in Fig. 1.

The evidence left us shows that at this time Alfred was close to

William Surtees Cook, who was a third cousin through his rela

tionship to Alfred's mother's family. Surtees Cook was a

frequent visitor to Wimpole Street, not only

on account of the consanguinity, but because of his deepening attachment to his wife-to-be, Henrietta

Moulton-Barrett. In his diary Surtees Cook recorded on 10 Novem

ber 1844: "Called in Wimpole Street? Walked with Henrietta and

Alfred. . . . Alfred dined with me?and we went to the musical

promenade at Covent Garden." There are many other references

to Alfred's dining with Surtees or attending parties with him, in



EBB to Her Brother Alfred 137

Arabel, 3 July

Henry, 29 June

n

S

Henrietta, 3 Aug.

Octavius, 28 June Edward Moulton-Barrett, 27 Sept.

Figure 1. The Barretts by Alfred Moulton-Barrett, 1843



138 Ronald Hudson

addition to his frequent presence as chaperon when Surtees escorted

Henrietta in the park or to a

morning concert. Surtees' deepening involvement is made plain by the entry of 21 March 1845, when

he records drinking the drops of tea left in Henrietta's cup, putting his "ugly mouth, wheie her pretty lips had been. This is Love?"

A few days later, he made clear that he was under no illusions

regarding his chances of winning her. He noted in the diary: "Her

father's consent before marriage is hopeless," and resolved to run

away with her "when I am a Captain, if she will."2

One other entry in Surtees' diary, that of 22 November 1844, is of particular interest, as it couples for the first time the names

of Alfred and his future wife, Elizabeth Georgina ("Lizzie") Bar

rett. At this time, Lizzie was a permanent member of the Wimpole Street household. Writing to Mary Russell Mitford on 4 June 1845, EBB identified her as "the daughter of a cousin of Papa's?and as

her father is in the West Indies and her mother insane . . . she is

next to an orphan, . . and we are not likely to lose her."3 When

Lizzie and Alfred walked with Henrietta and Surtees in 1844, she was

only eleven, and Alfred twenty-four. However, after Alfred mar

ried Lizzie in 1855 he wrote to Henrietta that he had loved Lizzie

for years, so it may not be too fanciful to see the seeds of the ro

mance sprouting in these walks recorded by Surtees.

It was Lizzie, incidentally, who was the subject of EBB's verses

entitled "A Portrait," published in 1844. It was also for Lizzie

that EBB wrote a 17-line poem on lace-bordered paper, with

decorations by Arabel and Henrietta, that was given to Lizzie on

Valentine's Day, 1844. This was also included in the article in the

New York Times on 13 February 1971, and is reproduced here as

Fig. 2. And it was to Lizzie that EBB referred when writing to

Robert Browning of "one of my cousins" who "lies on the floor

& kicks."4

Although there is solid evidence of a growing bond between

Alfred and Surtees and Henrietta, a bond that was to persist, there is little to show that EBB's life impinged much on Alfred's.

What evidence we do have shows a younger brother mostly very much in the background.

In a letter to Robert Browning, EBB

described her "sunday-levee," the only time in the week when

"for one half-hour I have to see all my brothers and sisters at



EBB and Her Brother Alfred 139

J(w? tuff )(o\ * ?utt"?

2^1

;^^^^^^f^^^f -

?^^s^^^^1^^*

Figure 2. Lace-bordered Valentine presented to Lizzie Barrett, 14 Feb. 1844



140 Ronald Hudson

once." She then goes on to recount how "with an exceeding im

pertinence, Alfred threw himself down on the sofa & declared

that he felt inclined to be very ill,?for that then . . . some young

lady might come to visit him, to talk sympathetically.

. . ."5

Alfred also figures in EBB's letter to Mary Russell Mitford of 10 July 1845. Miss Mitford had entertained various members of

the Moulton-Barrett family to a picnic at Three Mile Cross. Writ

ing her thanks afterwards, EBB (who was, of course, not able to

go herself) said: "My brother Alfred said to me expressively

. .

'Miss Mitford won every heart of us'-and that's true?for he

does not often fall or rise into enthusiasms."6

The only other extended reference to Alfred at this period was

immediately prior to EBB's departure from Wimpole Street, at

the time of the last of the "dognapping" episodes involving Flush.

The "dognapper" was just being paid for the return of Flush when

Alfred's untimely interference caused him to leave in a huff, and

Septimus had to be despatched to make peace and secure the

dog's return. Recounting the incident to Robert Browning, EBB

wrote: "I was very angry with Alfred, who had no business to

risk Flush's life for the sake of the satisfaction of trying on names

which fitted."7

EBB's relationship with Alfred, and with all the family, was

transformed by her unexpected marriage to Robert Browning and

their departure to Italy. Thereafter, EBB's principal channel for news from home, and for elder-sisterly advice to all and sundry,

was through her voluminous correspondence with her sisters. She

constantly begged for news of family and household servants ("How is Alfred getting

on with the railway?"), and expressed concern

over their health or impending journeys, especially when any of

her brothers made the long voyage to the family estates in Jamaica.

It was, however, seldom that she corresponded directly with other

members of the family; when she did, it was to her serious-minded

barrister brother George that she wrote most. There is no doubt,

though, that she was kept posted with details of Alfred's career

and especially of his involvement with Lizzie.

For those who were left in Wimpole Street, life continued much

as usual, after the storms attendant upon EBB's sudden flight sub

sided. Alfred's intimacy with Henrietta and Surtees is shown by the



Edward Barrett of = Judith Goodin

Cinnamon Hill

r

Roger Altham = Mary Isaacson

T George Henry Charles Moulton = Elizabeth Sarah Samuel = Elizabeth Barrett Wayte Williams

1-?7-? Samuel =

Margaret Gilles Richard Edward George = Elizabeth Turner

Storey ^

John Graham-Clarke = Arabella

Sarah ("Pinkie")

Samuel = Maria Bell r T ~\

Edward Richard Georgina Elizabeth = Alfred Moulton-Barrett

ty ("Lizzie") ^

Samuel

of Wimpole Street ltham f

-1 A. Surtees = Mary

Col. John Cook

Edward Barrett Moulton-Barrett = Mary John Altham f Mary Elizabeth Parkinson Jane =

John Hedley Charlotte = Richard Butler of Wimnole Street L I I

4/ ?

Frances f Thomas Butler Arabella ("Bummy") 4*

Elizabeth

-1-1-1-1-J-1-1 | Robert Arabella John Elizabeth George Fanny Anna Mary William Surtees Cook = Henrietta Moulton-Barrett Susan

$ 4, ^ Hbbet") ^

Robert Browning = Elizabeth Edward Henrietta = William Surtees Cook Mary Samuel Arabei Charles John George Henry Alfred =

Georgina Elizabeth Septimus Octav?is I ("Ba") ("Bro") ("Addles") ("Stormie") ? ("Daisy")! ("Lizzie") ("Sept") ("O?_cy"J

I ... !-1-i?i f*?-?-\-r-1 * Robert Wiedeman Barrett Browning = Fannie Coddington Altham Mary Edward Edward Alfred = Frances Amelia Horton George Alice Mary_Ethel

I * Edward Francis =

Evelyn Ambler

Edward R. Moulton-Barrett

The Moulton-Barrett Family ?

Abridged Genealogical Table

tu bo bo

a,

bo

Ob

4^



142 Ronald Hudson

employment of another of his talents, that of verse-maker. After

Surtees despaired of gaining approval of his marriage to Henrietta,

they resolved to follow EBB's example and marry despite Papa's

opposition. This they did on 6 April 1850, and it was Alfred who wrote to tell Henrietta of the aftermath of her elopement, of the

"grand battle scene in the drawing room," and to assure her that

"nothing which any of us heard tonight has in the least shaken us

in our belief that you were in every way justified in the course you

have taken." Alfred also composed a 72-stanza epic depicting the

event. Barrett p?re's unflinching opposition is record in stanzas

29 and 30:

He never once, e'en in a dream}

Gave ear to lovers true.

No thoughts would make that heart repent, Or feel for Surtees Cook.

And Henrietta's surreptitious departure is described in stanza 42:

With hurried footsteps light as air,

The errant damsel flew, Fast down the well-known winding stair, Nor paused to say adieu.

It is not known exactly when Alfred severed his connection with

the Great Western Railway, but on 6 February 1855 he was issued

a passport for travel to Marseilles "on Her Majesty's Service." The

nature of his post there is not known, but may have had some

connection with troop movements to the Crimean War, as he wrote

to his brother Septimus on 11 August 1855 that he had to make "a

long winded return" for the War Office and also "to see various

parties safely shipped off for Constantinople." As soon as EBB obtained his address in Marseilles from Arabel

Barrett, she wrote at once to suggest that he visit Florence.

Letter 1

[Incomplete]

[13 April 1855]

[Why don't you come] over to us & pay us a visit? There is a

railroad from Leghorn to Florence, & ten shillings English will




bring you by it to our door. (Second class of course. Nobody here travels otherwise.) We will take a bedroom for you, & we will

"board & do for you"?you shall be ruined, by no manner of

means, please to observe, . . & your reproach among men will

be wiped away, of never having

seen Florence! . . which is worth

seeing, I do assure you.8 Then I shall [excision] if you can any how. Give us that great pleasure, & let your brotherly affection

make it a pleasure

to you also.

I was delighted to hear of your occupation at Marseilles. As soon as I heard I wrote for your address, & Arabel omitted to

send it directly. You will scorn to hear English

news from me. The worst is

that dear little Altham has been ill?though he is well again, thank God.

9 Henrietta's plans

seem uncertain & uncomfortable.L ?

In

Wimpole Street, they are well. Trippy has emigrated somewhere?

(I cant make out where through having missed somehow some

note of Arabel's that was to tell me)?has given up her old rooms,

& is to be "walking about" by the time I come. I dare say she will live to write a

monody on me. I am very well though?have

quite rallied from my attack on the chest in the winter,?& am

being SLOWLY fattened on cod's liver oil, in order to making a

decent display in the London stalls after may. Penini thinks it answers . . but that I'm "still a little too

gentle" for a perfect

state of convalescence. So he told me today.

I had a letter today from Mr.s Martin who gives me news

that you will be sorry for?I am very sorry?Sir Robert Price

is obliged to submit to the sale of his property.a I did not know that such a

thing was even

apprehendio. Do you like Marseilles? I only know it by passing through.

It's fashionable not to like it. But I like the very scenery,. . that

wild, ragged, desolate, stretchy landscape & the picturesque, coloured population? Still, as a residence, the agreeableness

may be left doubtful. Write to me & tell me of yourself. And do come, if you can

anyhow. Think how near you are! I feel as if almost I could touch

you over the sea. Penini would like to see an uncle "en attendent"

an elephant. Robert's best love.

[Signature excised]

On 27 April, EBB reported to Henrietta that "such a kind

pleasant letter I had today from Alfred, who wont come here . .

cant; because of his being forced to keep on the watch for

telegraphs."13 Plans were afoot for EBB, RB, and Pen to travel to Paris, to



144 Ronald Hudson

see Robert's father and sister, and it was hoped that a meeting with Alfred might be arranged

at Marseilles, en route. However, as

plans matured, the meeting became doubtful, and EBB wrote

to Arabel on 11-12 June: "I shall miss Alfred at Marseilles too.

We get there in the middle of the night, & ... we shall probably

push on at once to sleep at Avignon two hours after landing."

A second objective in the trip to Paris was to witness the mar

riage of Wilson, EBB's maid, to Ferdinando Romagnoli, the Brown

ings' manservant, who had been trying to secure Wilson's assent to

marriage for the past two years. Finally, she agreed. (EBB was later

scandalized to discover that it was pregnancy that had brought about Wilson's acquiescence.) A major obstacle to the match was

that Ferdinando was Catholic, Wilson Protestant, and she would

not agree to swear to bring up the children of the marriage in the

Catholic faith; thus it was impossible

to arrange a Catholic service, the only legal form recognized in Tuscany. It was therefore hoped to arrange a Catholic ceremony in Paris, where the priests were

thought to be less strict. Before leaving Florence, Wilson and

Ferdinando went through an Anglican form of marriage at the

British Embassy, and EBB reported on this in a postscript to the

letter last mentioned: "An English clergyman performed the cer

emony half in English and half in Italian, & Robert ?c I de Penini

were witnesses?Peni giving his signature in full to the admiration

of the clergyman. . . . It's to be considered no

marriage, you under

stand, till after the Catholic ceremony?& we keep it secret for

fear of the priests, who might get Ferdinando stopped from leav

ing Tuscany, & so produce a

tragedy." The party set out for Leghorn,

to catch the packet for Marseilles, on the following day, 13 June. Unfortunately, the boat, due to

leave at 4:30 p.m., left without the Browning party at 3:30 "in the

fear of a rising wind, or supposed rising wind (there was'nt a breath

of air) . . .

taking with it our money & passports, & leaving us

frantic, of course."14

Rather than incur the expense of a hotel in Leghorn, or take

a different ship and forfeit their passage-money, the Brownings returned to Florence until the same boat made its next trip the

following week, when the Browning party was safely aboard,

and they arrived tired and sea-sick at Marseilles on the morning of




Figure 3. Alfred Price Moulton-Barrett (ca. 1856), artist unknown



146 Ronald Hudson

22 June. EBB unhesitatingly ascribed the misfortune, and the sub

sequent loss of part of their luggage, to the folly of having set out

in the first place on the thirteenth, "a day fatal we were assured by

certain judicious friends, to all undertakings."15

Having rested and breakfasted, they then made enquiries for

Alfred, and found him lodged in the room next to theirs at the

Htotel des Empereurs. He found the sure way to EBB's approbation

by taking Pen out to walk and bringing him home laden with bonbons and toys. Pen was also allowed to dine with the grown

ups, and had his portion of champagne, so it is no

surprise that

the brief visit with Alfred was a great success in EBB's eyes. Alfred

himself seems to have enjoyed his brief avuncular stint, and wrote

to Henrietta on 2 August 1855: "You never saw such a handsome

lad Penini has become?he was the wonder of Marseilles."

On arrival at Lyons on 23 June, EBB discovered to her dismay that one of their boxes was

missing, perhaps through the inatten

tion of the "bride and bridegroom." She instantly sent off the

following S.O.S. to Alfred.

Letter 216

Lyons. Saturday night?

[23 June 1855]

My dearest Alfred, Will you help us? We have lost a box?a square deal box with a

black top?it is locked & contains, hats, collars, lace &c?"Robert

Browning*' is written on it somewhere. Wilson can only remember

that she saw it on board the Bastia boat, "L'Industrie", from

whence our things

were supposed

to be conveyed to the custom

house, & from thence again to the Hotel des Empereurs. Do be so

kind as to make it out for us, as the loss will be considerable

three hats of Penini's in it,?& how is he to appear in Paris? If the box is recoverable, do send it in the quickest way to Robert's

address, in Paris, 138. Avenue des Champs Elysse?s. Robert says that the address on the box is written on one SIDE of the lid, on

the wood. There will also be on the box marks of its having come

from Firenze to Livorno by railroad. Reward anybody who will

find it, & make a note of all the expense incurred and we will pay you again of course?

Dearest Alfred, I meant to write to you from Paris, to say

how I took your flowers with me & the remembrance of all your




kindness to me & mine? May God bless you. So sorry I was to

miss seeing you this morning?yet adieus are not the best part of

love?

Penini said, "Dear mama, I like your uncle so much." "But he

is'nt my uncle Penini, but your's! and when you see your other

uncles, then you'll be able to consider which you like best." "Well"?said he musingly,?"For the present, I like Alfred leally nearly

as much as you & papa." I told you, you had won his heart at once, & no wonder

In the greatest haste & with all our love, believe me

Your ever attached

Ba~

With the greatest speed, to Paris?as our stay there is so un

certain. I dare say at least ten pounds worth of things

are in the

box besides ms. notes to a book?

This letter casts an interesting light

on EBB in her respective roles as mother and poetess. The possible loss of Penini's finery

with the cri de c ur "how is he to appear in Paris?" looms as a

much larger tragedy than the likely loss of her "ms. notes to a

book" (Aurora Leigh) added as an afterthought.

No sooner had this cry for help been despatched than another

box was discovered to be missing. Off went another hasty note

to Alfred.

Letter 3

[Incomplete]

[24 June 1855]

Note the second from Lyons?

My dearest Alfred, You will think us

perfectly mad?or poetical

There is a another [sic] large box, a trunk, marked R.B. in

brass nails on the outside, & with the marks of the railroad from

Firenze to Livorno?, left behind. Ferdinando is of opinion that both it & the small deal box of which I wrote to you before, are to be found at the Custom house?but you will enquire, I am sure, at the hotel, and at the Bastia steamer the 'Industrie'.

What we shall do without these boxes I cant imagine? Here's

the advantage (observe?/ do!) of travelling with a man-servant

for the first time? Never before did an accident occur to us of

this kind?



148 Ronald Hudson

Forgive me, dearest Alfred, for heaping up this trouble & an

noyance on you? For my sake you w[ill not] grudge the trouble, I do believe [conclusion missing]

That letter sent on its way, EBB discovered that a courier was

about to leave for Marseilles, so for good measure sent a third note

with him, summarizing the other two, as follows:

Letter 4

[24 June 1855]

My dearest Alfred This is the third letter I have written to you since we

parted? The others you will receive by post.

We have lost two boxes. A square deal box, locked,?with Robert

Browning written on one side of the lid?secondly a trunk with jRB

in brass nails on the lid? Enquire at the steamer Vlndustrie & at

the customs house? They must be somewhere there. At the hotel,

of course? And despatch them instantly to Robert's address?138

Avenue des Champs Ely s ees, Paris?

The rest in the other letters?

In greatest haste & despair?

Your attached

Ba.

Examine the magazine of the hotel.

The Brownings then proceeded to Paris, arriving about 7 p.m. on

24 June, and EBB immediately reported their difficulties to Arabel.

Writing to her on 25 June, she tells of sending the three notes to

Alfred "one after another," and of using the courier. "Of course

there was great negligence. But bride 3c bridegroom had their heads a little turned as was natural." Then on 30 June, she was able to

report: "The boxes are found, 3c sent, thanks to Alfred?we have

them: but we are not married yet, 3c there are difficulties."17 It

was not until 9 July that she wrote to thank Alfred, as follows:

Letter 5

Paris. Avenue des Champs Elysees

[9] July [1855]. Monday.

My dearest Alfred, Thank you, thank you for all your activity, adroitness & success. The boxes arrived in all safety, and in the




face of Robert's despair, who would have it they never could,

should, or would be found at all. If they had'nt, we should have

lost about thirty pounds . . to say nothing of the inconvenience.

For my part, it's my way to hope against

stone walls. I never

"gave them up"?and I thank you very, very much that you

justified me

perfectly. It has taught

us some wisdom, & we are

not likely

ever to lose our boxes again, whatever we may do with

our wits.

Your letter was the kindest, pleasantest, dearest letter? How

kind you are to me dear Alfred! I feel quite pleased that you should like Penini, and I will take your advice & try that he shant be "conceited" and spoiled. Remember, he's a young child still?&

everything comes to the surface?he's so

guileless & simple, he

cant pretend to be modest, as so many grown up people do. I

thought you would have heard him shouting on the hotel stairs that morning, "Where's the Prince of Peace?" And, that you

did'nt,. . that you were asleep instead, . . never for a moment

struck me as "unkind",. . indeed & indeed! I understood exactly how it was, and if you knew how inclined I felt to run into your room & give you a kiss .. only I thought you might not like it

how could I be sure? After all, "goodbyes" are hateful things, and I was just spared a pain. Now, I look back & think of the pleasure of having seen you, talked to you, dined with you, and heard your kind words.

I would not write till I could tell you where we shall be in

London. Arabel has taken us rooms in 13 Dorset Street, Baker

Street at two & a half guineas a week, & we are

likely to be

comfortable. She says that Sette is better. Sam Barrett19is in

London, & is surprised to see papa looking considerably "better"

than he did two years & a half ago. The Hedleys have gone into the country?Bummy, too.20 The Owens, I fear, have lost much

money through the Paul bankruptcy ?& they have lost besides a child by scarlet-fever, which is very much worse.

The old charm of Paris has siezed on me?nothing

in the world

(except Venice) is so beautiful as a city!?the gardens, trees, &

houses all growing together! Then the people are so very kind & attentive to us. The weather, too, has been divine since we came?

only by the time we come back, all that will have changed, & we shall have a northern winter to look forward to. The exhibi

tion22 is magnificent?the effects more picturesque than those in

England, notwithstanding the comparative deficiency in space.

[Continued on flap of envelope] We have been waiting here in order to

complete Wilson's marriage,. . and intend to leave Paris

tomorrow . . to reach London at past midnight. How overjoyed I am at the thoughts of whom I shall see on Wednesday! Robert



150 Ronald Hudson

desires me to name him affectionately to you . . & thankfully be

sides, for all you have done for us. Penini's love. Your attached Ba.

As will be seen from this letter, the Brownings were

planning to

leave Paris for London on 10 July, and Arabel Barrett had rented

rooms for them. However, true love found its wonted obstacles, and the Brownings' departure was

delayed, a succession of letters

keeping Arabel informed of developments. On 8 July EBB wrote

Arabel: "The difficulties have been immense, 3c it has only been

by favour that we are likely to escape the general law of the church

of Rome?iniquitous to my mind." She goes on to explain that the

undertaking is to be relaxed to require simply "a promise that if

'the children' choose to be Roman catholics, the mother wont

hinder them." Another letter, two days later, reported more

delay. "She has agreed

to submit to her husband's wishes on the point of

the children?and if they dont exact an oath from him, all will be

safe." She goes on to relate that Ferdinando, having become des

perate, had resolved to renounce his country and "set up a, fiacre . .

in Lyons!" There were no further setbacks, however, and she was

able to report in a postscript on the flap of the envelope: She is

married. I will tell you all."23

Wilson and Ferdinando were not the only couple having diffi

culty in entering the married state. Alfred's attachment to Lizzie

had grown over the years, and was probably the reason for her

despatch from the Wimpole Street household in 1853 for a pro tracted stay in Dublin. Alfred's own escape from Wimpole Street

to Marseilles made his intentions easier to effect, despite his father's

opposition. Surviving letters make clear that Barrett p?re was not

alone in thinking the marriage unwise. That EBB's "hot line" to

Wimpole Street was functioning

as efficiently

as always is shown

in her letter to Arabel after having seen Alfred in Marseilles. She

tells Arabel that Alfred had just taken a furnished house for six months: "What you tell me of his intentions is a

key to this?

but not a word did he tell me. . . . depend upon it, Arabel, he

comes [to Paris] to meet 3c marry Lizzie. That's certain. I am

very, very sorry." This letter then has seven lines heavily obliterated

at some later date, and it seems a reasonable inference that they contained the kernel of EBB's objections

to the match.24 However,




in another letter after the marriage, to Mrs. Martin on 7 August 1855, EBB makes clear that her prime reason for disliking the

marriage was Lizzie's mother's insanity.25 The male members of

the family appear to have been more influenced by Alfred's fi

nancial troubles: he was heavily in debt and being pressed by

creditors. A letter from Alfred to Septimus on 19 July 1855 shows

that Alfred had approached his father: "I have written to the

Governor, not according to my wishes, but out of regard to hers.

She insisted upon my shewing respect to him who is nominally

'My father' & so I wrote in such a strain, I thought best suited to

allay the dreadful injury I was about to inflict. I regretted having to make such a

parade, but what I regretted still more was the

consequent annoyance it would create among you all. He has I

supposed been outrageous?& his society necessarily disagreeable." He then goes on to

justify the marriage, saying that Lizzie's pro

perty would be secured "for her sole use & benefit & for her

childrens." Septimus wrote Alfred on the same day, urging delay;

their letters crossed, and Alfred wrote again on 22 July: "You ask

me to wait until my debts are compromised?I do not wish to have

them compromised?I only wish my creditors should have patience.

My marriage will not increase my expenditure, but diminish it."

Later he says that "with a very comfortable income" and reduced

expenditure he hopes to rid himself of his debts, though "it is our intention to keep our marriage as close as it may be possible & so

avoid creditors ears." So, ignoring advice and opposition, Alfred

married, and wrote to Henrietta on 2 August 1855 to tell her that

"the dread deed has been done. I am a married man?and as I gave

you my sympathy & moreover as you have always shown the

kindest love towards me I ask you to say & do all you can to

soften the hard judgments that may be passed against me.

"You must know my dearest Henrietta that I have loved Lizzie

for years?for a

long, long time we have been engaged, & engaged with the perfect concurrence and approval of those who have for

the greater term of our engagement taken the kindliest interest in

her.

"The marriage occurred yesterday in the Embassy at Paris. . . .

I have sent cards to no one. I was told that the publication of my



152 Ronald Hudson

marriage would set ones claimants enquiring ?V so have sa

nothing." When EBB heard the news, she wrote felicitating the couple,

follows:

Letter 6

13 Dorset Street. Baker Street

Wednesday. [8 August 1855]

My dearest Alfred, I little thought when we parted at Marseilles, that you would

bring me another sister before we should meet

again. May God

bless you & her, dear Alfred, & make you happy to the utmost

of your hopes & the possibilities of this world, enabling you, when the necessary griefs fall in, to bear them better in the

strength of your mutual love, &, when the joys thicken, to feel

them still sweeter because of being joyful together. Give my love

(and a kiss . . if it so please you) to dear Lizzie, & tell her that

she must try to love me a little, as a real sister should. When I

hung up my "Portrait," did I think of it's being my sister's? No, indeed. But the way of the world has funny turns in it.

Will you write to me, dear Alfred, and tell me how you get on, and if the Marseilles villa suits Lizzie, & if Lizzie suits it, and

if you two (I dont include the villa) are

likely to come to Paris

this winter, so that Robert & I may see you. We should be so

very glad of that chance. Penini being overwhelmed with the

number of uncles & aunts, "leally does'nt want any more," he

said when we told him that he had a new aunt. Still, his admira

tion for you continues, & Lizzie will find him quite inclined to

allow her to sit in the light of that. Indeed there's room & to spare. In Wimpole Street the affair seems to have gone off much

quieter than such things are apt to do. At the same time, I am

afraid you are not likely to be better off on that account.

I find my dearest Arabel looking well. She is all the delight of my eyes which I can have in London. Otherwise, I hate being here quite as much as usual, & begin to feel very tired & de

pressed with the number of visitors who do not come from

Wimpole street. I see very little of my brothers; though dear

Sette is better than he was. So much I do wish that he & papa would go together to Buxton! It would be excellent for both

of them. George has not returned yet from circuit, & he went

away only a

day or two after our arrival.




Robert's poems are in the press, & I expect a great success.

[Continued on flap of envelope] He unites with me in the warmest brotherly regard & wishes to both of you.

May God bless you, here & hereafter!?prays your constantly affectionate

Ba

Writingto Mrs. Martin the day before, she said, after referring to

Lizzie's mother's malady, "Alfred has chosen, & acted, ?V it remains

to make the best of it. Of course he makes the third exile from

Wimpole Street?the course of true love running remarkably rough in our house. For the rest, there have been no scenes, . . . a few

words of a sharp character said to Sette?and there was an end!

Poor Alfred. In the actual state of his affairs, nothing could be so

illjudged as this marriage?but he has 'gone & done it', & we must

hope for the best."27 And writing to Henrietta ten days later, she

said in a postscript: "I scarcely know what to say of Alfred's

marriage. I wrote of course?& he has written to me. He seems

very happy now, & may God grant that the happiness last! The

malady is the horrible objection, from which I cant distract my

eyes."28

EBB, Henrietta, and Alfred were now united by the sentence

of excommunication and disinheritance passed by the father whose

authority had been flouted.

Responding to a letter of congratulation from Septimus, Alfred

wrote on 11 August: "We have now had a weeks experience of

house keeping & I assure you the difference of expense is ridicu

lously small. Two pence worth more of eggs and a penny extra

of goats milk per diem comprises all. . . . I bind myself most so

lemnly not to let the event increase my expenditure. All will go much better than you anticipate.

. . . my wife?bless her old bones

has more than you think in exspectancy [sic] & we shall manage to rub on, after our own fashion, in a very respectable way."

The next surviving letter from EBB to Alfred was at the end of

the year, after the Brownings had returned to Paris from their

stay in London.



154 Ronald Hudson

Letter 7

Dec. 20 [1855]. Rue du Colyss?e Avenue des Champs Elyss?es

My dearest Alfred Our two letters crossed. I only hope you received mine. I would

not write again till I could send you my address in Paris?and we

fell into a trap in Paris . . into a miserable apartment without top,

bottom, or sides, where we were held fast for two months, we

trying hard to let it, & go. Never was I so uncomfortable in my

life. Robert had to dress in the salon, and Penini to sleep on the

floor in our bedroom?and the exposition was to the east, and the

draughts flew about everywhere like birds of prey. Of course I was

extremely unwell, with a return of some of my worst symp

toms?and Robert talked desperately of throwing up the house,

rent & all. Which would have been madness? How could we

afford to pay twenty pounds for nothing? So I used all my small

wifely influence (very small, is'nt it, Lizzie?) and persuaded him to

patience. And we endured; saw out the month, & now, for a

recompense, are most comfortably established in a street just

turning out of the Champs Elyss?es . . in most comfortable rooms,

not large,

nor gaudy

. . but convenient & very warm. But oh, the

weather, the frost! Your northern winters are hard to bear.

Still I am considerably better, & I shall get on I dare say. As to Penini he has got on. In London he grew pale & thin,?but

here he has blown out his cheeks with a rose canvas. Paris always

agrees well with him. And you, both of you? Dearest Alfred & Lizzie, mind you be

good & write to me, & tell me what you are doing & talking of, & whether you are very tired of one another yet. (That, of course.) Have you any society? Do you talk French? Will Lizzie manage a Christmas out of England? Do you dream of coming up to Paris?

There's a bunch of questions for you.

I have not heard from Wimpole Street for some days, and I am anxious to hear, for Arabel has been less strong than usual

since their return from Eastbourne &, though she makes nothing of it, I cant help being hungry about letters. You are aware

perhaps that Henrietta expects another confinement in April?

which prevented her coming to London to see me,2 I had a dis

mal London-visit after all?and here it has been dismal too from another cause, & we have been lying perdue behind the door,

away from all our acquaintances except such as burrowed for

us. Now, we shall creep out a little. Robert will, at least. Charles

Dickens lives opposite. Sir Edward Lytton30 has spent an evening

with us & I liked him much better than I thought possible before.




[Continued on flap of envelope] Penini consoled himself for the degradation of sleeping on the floor by observing that it

was "just lite the soldiers at Sebastapol." He is in great force,

never ceases talking from morning till night, & is the best & dearest child in the world in my opinion. May God bless you both, dearest Alfred & Lizzie! Robert's love & Penini's too. Penini

says "I hope untie Alfred has'nt forgotten me. Tell him I've just walked to the Bois de Boulogne, & that the ice is dreadful." Your ever affectionate Ba.

Contact between EBB and Alfred continued, and in a letter to

Arabel dated 13 March 1856 EBB said: "I must send you Alfred's letter just received?because it is so

pleasant." However, this letter

has not survived. In another letter to Arabel, dated 4 October

1856, EBB wrote: "Yesterday Alfred & Lizzie came. He was masked

in an enormous moustache31. . . Lizzie looked pretty, rather thin,

smiling, not over-powered at the notion of separation." This last

was a reference to Alfred's impending departure to Madeira that

day for six weeks. EBB continues that the next day she received

a note from Lizzie that she herself was sailing for Madeira the

following week: "She said she must be with him?she could not be

separated so

long." His trip must have been on Government busi

ness, for EBB says later in the letter: "While he is away, he expects a consulship to be found for him." He was back in England early in 1857, and attended his father's funeral in Ledbury

on 24 April 1857. (Surtees Cook noted in his diary that "every shop in Led

bury was closed" as a mark of respect, even though it was 25

years since Edward Moulton-Barrett had left Hope End.) Soon

after that, Alfred left for Hong Kong, though it is not known

whether this trip related to his expectancy of a consulship. EBB

"perfectly disapproved" of his leaving Lizzie behind. "Her aunt's

house in Cheltenham, does not seem to me a safe enough place for a young creature, so very attractive, & so young in all ways."32

Alfred returned on 17 November 1857, at which time his wife was

staying with several other members of the family at Bryngwyn,

Charles John Moulton-Barrett's house in Montgomeryshire, bought with part of his share of his father's estate.

The next surviving letter from EBB to Alfred was written in

1859 to express congratulations on the birth of his first son,

Edward Alfred, on 17 January 1859 in Leamington.



156 Ronald Hudson

Letter 8

Rome. 43. Bocea di Leone

Jany. 28 [1859].

My dearest Alfred, I do congratulate you & dear Lizzy from my heart. I have been looking

out for a letter on the subject,?& a

better one than this, who could receive? Thank you my dear

Alfred. Your anxiety and also your joy must have been great indeed . .

great in proportion to the gigantic size of the baby. I

remember objecting to the largeness of the cap Arabel bought

in France?but of course she bought it precisely so, in virtue of

some half conscious presentiment. As for the rest, when your

sight clears a little you will find that the baby is no more like other babies in feature & modes of being than in dimensions. There's as

distinct a variety in babies as in men, & I am sure

Lizzy would

recognize hers in a foundling hospital, through a process of. .

shuffle babies, cut, & deal. She would put her finger on the

trump-babe in a moment.

Now I was going to ask you to give (for me) an auntly kiss to the new

darling, but your imagination may fail me, not conceiv

ing of aunts, so, instead, give a

paternal one,?and give a

sisterly kiss to dear Lizzy?you can conceive of that, I think. Nobody knows (except you & us & a few others) what a light in the house

hold, a young child is. Lizzy will take to loving children now, wont she? May the boy be a Penini to

you! That's the best wish

Jean make?and a "six footer" besides, if you please,. . which my

Pen is not likely to be ever.

He is grown though, & is generally considered tall for his age,

though very young looking & with such small bones that they cant draw out to any notable height I must suppose. Just the

same joyous, spontaneous child as ever . . as when you gave him

your grand dinner at Marseilles, you remember?and, at the same

time, developped in many ways,?six languages & music,?forward for his age,& not with the common forwardness of over-cultivated

children. There's a mixture of knowledge & ignorance which is

attractive?& I assure you we are admired extremely, though we

have not begun Latin yet, and know

nothing of the multiplication table. Time enough I say for the pounds, shillings & pence

Mean time he is reading Monte Cristo in an Italian translation

with the utmost delight?"Now," says he, "I mean to take to

reading novels."

Not too fast Master Pen. I must put my naughty French books far away into lock-up drawers.

He and I are full of our Italy & Napoleon, & the Piedmontese

marriage.3 There are some wild beasts in Rome just now with a




keeper who goes in to play with the tiger. Said I to Pen, "would

you go in to that tiger for a napoleon?" "No indeed," said he

decidedly. "Would you go in to make Italy free?" "Yes," he answered. "I would go in, in one moment. Do you think I would

not put down my life for my country?" Still I hope he will keep clear of army & navy?and if dear

Harry3 will forgive me, I must wish the same for your boy. Rome is gay enough

to disturb the ashes of the Caesars?Robert

is out every night, with engagements two or three deep a

night, &c I have visitors too many, while the cold wind keeps

me at

home. The amount of dukes & princes here is remarkable, & the

young prince of Wales when he comes will be but a spark in the fire. The wife of his 'governor', Colonel Bruce, has arrived already,

& brings a letter to us, so that we shall hear a

good deal about

him. Also through Odo Russell, Lord John's nephew, who is to

do him the honors of Rome, . . & whom Robert sees frequently

. .

& with whom Robert went the other day to dine at a

pothouse on the other side of the Tiber in order to enjoy Roman viands

& manners at the purest. "I shall bring the prince here" said

Odo Russell charmed.

Then the Americans swarm here?some, very interesting & love

able, others .... simply American. I continue to

prefer my own

quiet life at Florence, and yet our winter at Rome so far, has

been amusing enough, and I have enjoyed the blazing sun through the windows even when unable to go out. . which has been the

case for a month.

Our plan is to go to Naples in the spring, but I doubt whether we shall do it?in fact, it's better not to make plans, till one can

be sure of carrying them out.

I hear dear Storm35 persists in going to Jamaica? The more's

the pity! I hate thinking of it, for my part. My chief occupation is, sitting for my picture, which is of

course useful & moral?

"When nothing's left that's worth defence

we build a magazine"

said Swift, & so with me. When nothing's left worth looking at,

people begin to draw it. There are three artists at this great work,

& when anyone succeeds you are all to be blessed with photo

graphs.36 I only wish they would paint Peni, who would really make a

picture. Robert's love & congratulations, with mine & Penini's. We are

well, thank God. May He bless & keep you all three. Three, after

being only two!? What a difference, inexpressible by the science of numbers!

[Signature excised]



158 Ronald Hudson

In view of EBB's grief over Henrietta's illness and death in the

following year, together with her own declining strength and death

in 1861, it is likely that this was the last letter written by EBB to

Alfred; there is no evidence to the contrary. After EBB's death, Alfred lived largely as a

gentleman of leisure,

travelling and sketching, supported primarily by his wife's income.

There is no indication that he had any steady occupation in his

later years. He never formed any close association with Robert

Browning or Pen, though he carefully preserved newspaper clip

pings concerning RB's works and Pen's exhibitions in his scrap books. He did not care for the cult of adulation fostered by F. J.

Furnivall, whom he termed "an insolent hound" in a letter to

Octavius Moulton-Barrett on 23 December 1889. He objected

strongly to some of the things being written about his father, and

said to Octavius: "Surely Pen should be requested to gag this

insolent?many a son would do more 3c disable the fellow from

sitting down for a month. Fancy any one loving her memory so

writing to the public of her Father!!" He seems to have had little

esteem for Pen, and joined with his brothers in deploring Pen's

decision to publish his parents' love letters. A caricature by Alfred

of Pen in the shape of a pig survives.36

In the late 1880's Alfred and Lizzie were living in Luxembourg;

they had four children in all. Alfred died in the south of France on

24 May 1904; Lizzie died in London in 1918.

New York, N. Y.

NOTES

1. Diary by E.B.B.: The Unpublished Diary of Elizabeth Barrett Barrett, 1831-1832,

ed. Philip Kelley and Ronald Hudson (Athens: Ohio Univ. Press, 1969), p. 206.

I wish to record my gratitude to Dr. Jack W. Herring, Director of the Armstrong

Browning Library at Baylor University in Waco, Tex., for permitting me to publish Letter 3, which is in the ABL collection. For permission to print all the remaining letters

and to draw on other material in his possession, I express my deep appreciation to Edward

R. Moulton-Barrett, Esq. (The envelope belonging to Letter 8 is in the Houghton Library at Harvard.) Finally, I need to thank my colleague, Philip Kelley, for considerable assist

ance in locating material and supplying facts.

2. Throughout this article, direct quotations not otherwise attributed are drawn

from family papers in the possession of Edward R. Moulton-Barrett, Esq., Col. R. A.

Moulton-Barrett, Miss Myrtle Moulton-Barrett, and Mrs. V. M. Altham, to all of whom

my thanks for allowing me to draw on their material.

3. Elizabeth Barrett to Miss Mitford, ed. Betty Miller (London: John Murray, 1954),

p. 246.




4. The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Barrett 1845-1846, ed. Elvan Kintner (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1969), I, 326.

5. Ibid., II, 727.

6. Miller, p. 250.

7. Kintner, II, 1050.

8. The eight letters printed here are given in their entirety. Repeated periods represent EBB's punctuation, not editorial excisions. Elision points are used in some of the shorter extracts appearing in the linking text.

9; Henrietta's boy. In a letter to Mrs. Martin of 20 Apr. 1855, in the collection at

Wellesley College, EBB wrote: "Dear little Altham has been very ill at Plymouth with

gastric fever."

10. Henrietta's husband was serving as an officer with the 1st Somerset Militia. Men

and officers had been asked to volunteer for service in the Mediterranean, and in an

effort to secure promotion to Major, Surtees Cook had offered to take command of the

contingent. There was doubt about Henrietta's accompanying him if the posting came

through; however, there were insufficient volunteers to form a company and Captain Cook remained in England.

11. Maria Trepsack, one of the family servants who had been with EBB's paternal

grandmother, was suffering delusions of being poisoned, and had moved from her lodg

ings at 26 Welbeck Street. She died on 9 Mar. 1857.

12. Sir Robert Price (1786-1857), Member of Parliament, was the son of Sir Uvedale

Price, who had repeatedly sought EBB's comments and advice on his writings about the

classics when she lived at Hope End. The estate was Foxley, in Herefordshire. Mrs. Julia Martin, with her husband and family, lived at Old Colwall, adjoining the Hope End

estate, and EBB maintained a correspondence with her after leaving Hope End.

13. In the collection of Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. 14. Letter to Arabel, [14 June 1855]. 15. Letter to Arabel, 25 June [1855], in the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection

of The New York Public Library. (No further printed quotations from this correspondence will be permitted without prior written permission from The New York Public Library.) In allowing me to use brief quotations from this and other letters in the Berg Collection, I am indebted to The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations.

16. This is the only one of the eight letters reproduced here that has been published before. It appeared in Maisie Ward's The Tragi-Comedy of Pen Browning (New York: Sheed and Ward and The Browning Institute, 1972), p. 155.

17. Both letters in the Berg Collection.

18. The exact nature of his illness is not known. A later reference to a second attack

suggests some repetitive ailment, perhaps malaria, contracted in the West Indies.

19. Lizzie's first cousin, Samuel Goodin Barrett (1812-76), who was also a distant cousin of EBB and Alfred.

20. John and Jane Hedley and family. Mrs. Hedley was EBB's maternal aunt, as was

"Bummy," Arabella Sarah Graham-Clarke. 21. Angela Bay ford Owen and her husband. EBB referred to her as a cousin, but

the blood relationship was certainly not a close one. The bankruptcy was that of Sir

John Paul (1802-68) and his partners, bankers who suspended payment in 1855. They were subsequently sentenced to penal servitude for fraudulently disposing of clients'

securities; the Fraudulent Trustees Act of 1857 was passed in consequence of their

delinquency. 22. The Industrial Exhibition opened on 15 May 1855.

23. Letters to Arabel of [8 July 1855] and [10 July 1855] in the Berg Collectioa

24. Letter of 25 June [1855] in the Berg Collection.

25. Letter in the collection at Wellesley. This reference was not included in the

version published in The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, ed. Frederic G. Kenyon,

(London and New York: Macmillan, 1897), II, 206-08.

26. Men and Women, published in November 1855.

27. Kenyon, II, 207, gives an edited version of her words.



160 Ronald Hudson

28. Letter of [17 Aug. 1855] in the collection of Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. 29. Henrietta's second son and third child, Edward Altham, was born on 13 Apr.

1856.

30. Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton was both politician and novelist, author of The Last

Days of Pompeii and other historical novels. His son Robert (1831-91), who published

poetry under the nom de plume of Owen Meredith, was a member of the Brownings' Florentine circle of friends.

EBB recorded the visit in a letter to Arabel: "I like Sir Edward much better

than I thought I should, though the whole tone of the man is less deep less sweet, less pure, than his son's . . ." (31 Oct. [1855] ; Berg Collection).

31. A portrait of Alfred, made at about this time, is shown as figure 3. The artist

is unknown. It is reproduced here by kind permission of Edward R. Moulton-Barrett,

Esq. 32. Letter to Arabel, 3 Apr. [1857], in the Berg Collection.

33. The marriage of Prince Napoleon (1822-91), second son of Jerome Bonaparte,

King of Westphalia, to his cousin Princess Marie Clotilde of Savoy, daughter of King Victor Emmanuel II, on 30 Jan. 1859.

34. Their brother Henry (1818-96). 35. Charles John Moulton-Barrett (1814-1905) was known to the family as "Storm."

It was he who, as the eldest surviving brother, voiced objection to Pen's decision to

publish his parents' love letters. A critical letter from him, dated 30 Mar. 1899, appeared in the London Standard.

36. In a letter to Arabel dated [22? Jan. 1859] EBB wrote: "Gordigiani made a

portrait of me at Florence,?a large buxom, radiant matron, with a torrent of black

ringlets at each cheek. Here, has Miss Fox made a portrait of me at Rome, a dimpled rosy 'pretty woman of five & twenty,' with a stream of brown ringlets at each cheek.

Both equally unlike me in the opinion of the best critics. . . . Now Field Talfourd

(.. . said to be unfailing in his likenesses) is coming on mon day to try his hand."

Talfourd completed his drawing in February, and EBB was pleased enough with his repre sentation of her to send photographs of it to her brothers and sisters. A letter in the Berg

Collection dated [1? Mar. 1859] tells how Robert Browning gave Miss Fox in marriage to Mr. Bridell and says that Miss Fox's portrait "began by being young & coarse like a

milkmaid?& will end by being old & coarse like a cook."

37. Reproduced in Maisie Ward, p. 102.



Documents

Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Her Brother Alfred: Some Unpublished Letters