[10] Miss Mitford’s Recollections of a Literary Life contained a chapter relating to Robert and Elizabeth Browning, in which, with the best intentions in the world, she told the story of the drowning of Edward Barrett, and of the gloom cast by it on his sister’s life.  It was this revival of the greatest sorrow of her life that so upset Mrs. Browning.

[11] No doubt M. Milsand was the writer in question.

[12] The (forged) Letters of Shelley, to which Mr. Browning wrote an introduction, dealing rather with Shelley in general than with the letters.

[13] ‘Lines to Elizabeth Barrett Browning on her Later Sonnets’, printed in the Athenaeum for February 15, 1851.  The allusion to the voice which called ‘Dinah’ must refer to something in Miss Mulock’s letter.  Dinah was Miss Mulock’s Christian name.

[14] In another letter, written about the same date to Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Browning says:  ’Perhaps you never heard of the crystal ball.  The original ball was bought by Lady Blessington from an “Egyptian magician,” and resold at her sale.  She never could understand the use of it, but others have looked deeper, or with purer eyes, it is said; and now there is an optician in London who makes and sells these balls, and speaks of a “great demand,” though they are expensive.  “Many persons,” said Lord Stanhope, “use the balls, without the moral courage to confess it.”  No doubt they did.

CHAPTER VIII

1852-55

The middle of November found the travellers back again in Florence, and it was nearly three years before they again quitted Italy.  No doubt, after the excitement of the coup d’etat in Paris, and the subsequent manoeuvres of Louis Napoleon, which culminated in this very month in his exchanging the title of President for that of Emperor, Florence must have seemed very quiet, if not dull.  The political movement there was dead; the Grand Duke, restored by Austrian bayonets, had abandoned all pretence at reform and constitutional progress.  In Piedmont, Cavour had just been summoned to the head of the administration, but there were no signs as yet of the use he was destined to make of his power.  Of politics, therefore, we hear little for the present.

Nor is there much to note at this time in respect of literature.  A new edition of Mrs. Browning’s poems was called for in 1853; but beyond some minor revisions of detail it did not differ from the edition of 1850.  Her husband’s play, ‘Colombe’s Birthday,’ was produced at the Haymarket Theatre during April, with Miss Faucit (Lady Martin) in the principal part; but the poet had no share in the production, and his literary activity must have been devoted to the composition of some of the fine poems which subsequently formed the two volumes of ‘Men and Women,’ which appeared in 1855.  Mrs. Browning had also embarked on her longest poem, ‘Aurora Leigh,’ and speaks of being happily and busily engaged in work; but we hear little of it as yet in her correspondence.  Her little son and her Florentine friends and visitors form her principal subjects; and we also see the beginning of a topic which for the next few years occupied a good deal of her attention—­namely, Spiritualism.