The Complete Works of Robert Browning: Poems, Plays, Letters & Biographies in One Edition. Robert Browning
me, you are smiling, I dare say. You hear any amount of such things, doubtless. But a genuine living appreciation is always worth having in this old world, it is like a strong fresh breeze from off the brine, that puts a sense of life and power into a man. You cannot be the worse for it. Yours very sincerely, Celia Thaxter.
When Mr. Thaxter died, in February 1885, his son wrote to Mr. Browning to beg of him a few lines to be inscribed on his father’s tombstone. The little poem by which the request was answered has not yet, I believe, been published.
‘Written to be inscribed on the gravestone of Levi Thaxter.’
Thou, whom these eyes saw never, — say friends true Who say my soul, helped onward by my song, Though all unwittingly, has helped thee too? I gave but of the little that I knew: How were the gift requited, while along Life’s path I pace, could’st thou make weakness strong, Help me with knowledge — for Life’s old, Death’s new! R. B. April 19, ‘85.
A publication which connected itself with the labours of the Society, without being directly inspired by it, was the annotated ‘Strafford’ prepared by Miss Hickey for the use of students. It may be agreeable to those who use the little work to know the estimate in which Mr. Browning held it. He wrote as follows:
19, Warwick Crescent, W.: February 15, 1884.
Dear Miss Hickey, — I have returned the Proofs by post, — nothing can be better than your notes — and with a real wish to be of use, I read them carefully that I might detect never so tiny a fault, — but I found none — unless (to show you how minutely I searched,) it should be one that by ‘thriving in your contempt,’ I meant simply ‘while you despise them, and for all that, they thrive and are powerful to do you harm.’ The idiom you prefer — quite an authorized one — comes to much the same thing after all.
You must know how much I grieve at your illness — temporary as I will trust it to be — I feel all your goodness to me — or whatever in my books may be taken for me — well, I wish you knew how thoroughly I feel it — and how truly I am and shall ever be Yours affectionately, Robert Browning.
From the time of the foundation of the New Shakspere Society, Mr. Browning was its president. In 1880 he became a member of the Wordsworth Society. Two interesting letters to Professor Knight, dated respectively 1880 and 1887, connect themselves with the working of the latter; and, in spite of their distance in time, may therefore be given together. The poem which formed the subject of the first was ‘The Daisy’;* the selection referred to in the second was that made in 1888 by Professor Knight for the Wordsworth Society, with the cooperation of Mr. Browning and other eminent literary men.
* That beginning ‘In youth from rock to rock, I went.’
19, Warwick Crescent, W.: July 9, ‘80.
My dear Sir, — You pay me a compliment in caring for my opinion — but, such as it is, a very decided one it must be. On every account, your method of giving the original text, and subjoining in a note the variations, each with its proper date, is incontestably preferable to any other. It would be so, if the variations were even improvements — there would be pleasure as well as profit in seeing what was good grow visibly better. But — to confine ourselves to the single ‘proof’ you have sent me — in every case the change is sadly for the worse: I am quite troubled by such spoilings of passage after passage as I should have chuckled at had I chanced upon them in some copy pencil-marked with corrections by Jeffrey or Gifford: indeed, they are nearly as wretched as the touchings-up of the ‘Siege of Corinth’ by the latter. If ever diabolic agency was caught at tricks with ‘apostolic’ achievement (see page 9) — and ‘apostolic’, with no ‘profanity’ at all, I esteem these poems to be — surely you may bid it ‘aroint’ ‘about and all about’ these desecrated stanzas — each of which, however, thanks to your piety, we may hail, I trust, with a hearty
Thy long-lost praise thou shalt regain
Nor be less dear to future men
Than in old time!
Believe me, my dear Sir, Yours very sincerely, Robert Browning.
19, Warwick Crescent, W.: March 23, ‘87.
Dear Professor Knight, — I have seemed to neglect your commission shamefully enough: but I confess to a sort of repugnance to classifying the poems as even good and less good: because in my heart I fear I should do it almost chronologically — so immeasureably superior seem to me the ‘first sprightly runnings’. Your selection would appear to be excellent; and the partial admittance of the later work prevents one from observing the too definitely distinguishing black line between supremely good and — well, what is fairly tolerable — from Wordsworth, always understand! I have marked a few of the early poems, not included in your list — I could do no other when my conscience tells me that I never can be tired of loving them: while, with the best will in the world, I could never do more than try hard to like them.*
* By ‘them’ Mr. Browning clearly means the later poems, and probably has omitted a few words which would have shown this.
You see, I go wholly upon my individual likings and distastes: that other considerations should have their weight with other people is natural and inevitable. Ever truly yours, Robert Browning.
Many thanks for the volume just received — that with the correspondence. I hope that you restore the swan simile so ruthlessly cut away from ‘Dion’.
In 1884 he was again invited, and again declined, to stand for the Lord Rectorship of the University of St. Andrews. In the same year he received the LL.D. degree of the University of Edinburgh; and in the following was made Honorary President of the Associated Societies of that city.* During the few days spent there on the occasion of his investiture, he was the guest of Professor Masson, whose solicitous kindness to him is still warmly remembered in the family.
* This Association was instituted in 1833, and is a union of literary and debating societies. It is at present composed of five: the Dialectic, Scots Law, Diagnostic, Philosophical, and Philomathic.
The interest in Mr. Browning as a poet is beginning to spread in Germany. There is room for wonder that it should not have done so before, though the affinities of his genius are rather with the older than with the more modern German mind. It is much more remarkable that, many years ago, his work had already a sympathetic exponent in Italy. Signor Nencioni, Professor of Literature in Florence, had made his acquaintance at Siena, and was possibly first attracted to him through his wife, although I never heard that it was so. He was soon, however, fascinated by Mr. Browning’s poetry, and made it an object of serious study; he largely quoted from, and wrote on it, in the Roman paper ‘Fanfulla della Domenica’, in 1881 and 1882; and published last winter what is, I am told, an excellent article on the same subject, in the ‘Nuova Antologia’. Two years ago he travelled from Rome to Venice (accompanied by Signor Placci), for the purpose of seeing him. He is fond of reciting passages from the works, and has even made attempts at translation: though he understands them too well not to pronounce them, what they are for every Latin language, untranslatable.
In 1883 Mr. Browning added another link to the ‘golden’ chain of verse which united England and Italy. A statue of Goldoni was about to be erected in Venice. The ceremonies of the occasion were to include the appearance of a volume — or album — of appropriate poems; and Cavaliere Molmenti, its intending editor, a leading member of the ‘Erection Committee’, begged Mr. Browning to contribute to it. It was also desired that he should be present at the unveiling.* He was unable to grant this request, but consented to write a poem. This sonnet