“`Wouldaman’scapetherod？’
RabbiBenKarshooksaith，`SeethatheturnstoGodThedaybeforehisdeath。’
`Ay，couldamaninquireWhenitshallcome!’Isay。
TheRabbi’seyeshootsfire
`Thenlethimturnto-day!’
II。
QuothayoungSadducee，
`Readerofmanyrolls，IsitsocertainweHave，astheytellus，souls？’
`Son，thereisnoreply!’
TheRabbibithisbeard：
`Certain，asoulhave_I_
WEmayhavenone，’hesneer’d。
ThusKarshook，theHiram’s-Hammer，TheRight-HandTemplecolumn，Taughtbabestheirgraceingrammar，Andstruckthesimple，solemn。“
*So-called，itisasserted，fromhischildishefforttopronounceadifficultnameWiedemann。Butdespitethegoodauthorityforthisstatement，itisimpossiblenottocreditrathertheexplanationgivenbyNathanielHawthorne，who，moreover，affordsthepracticallydefiniteproofthattheboywasatfirst，asatermofendearment，called“Pennini“，whichwaslaterabbreviatedto“Pen“。Thecognomen，Hawthornestates，wasadiminutiveof“Apennino“，whichwasbestowedupontheboyinbabyhoodbecausehewasverysmall，therebeingastatueinFlorenceofcolossalsizecalled“Apennino“。
[SeeMrs。Orr’s“LifeandLettersofRobertBrowning“nowonline
foradifferentopinion。A。L。，1996。]
Itwasinthisyear1855that“MenandWomen“waspublished。
Itisdifficulttounderstandhowacollectioncomprisingpoemssuchas“LoveamongtheRuins“，“EvelynHope“，“FraLippoLippi“，“AToccataofGaluppi’s“，“AnyWifetoanyHusband“，“MasterHuguesofSaxe-Gotha“，“AndreadelSarto“，“InaBalcony“，“Saul“，“AGrammarian’sFuneral“，tomentiononlytennowalmostuniversallyknown，didnotatonceobtainanationalpopularityfortheauthor。
Butloversofliteratureweresimplyenthralled：andthetwovolumeshadawelcomefromthemwhichwasperhapsallthemoreardentbecauseoftheirdisproportionatenumbers。Earsalerttonovelpoeticmusicmusthavethrilledtothenewstrainwhichsoundedfirst
“LoveamongtheRuins“，withitsMillet-likeopening
“Wherethequiet-colouredendofeveningsmiles，MilesandmilesOnthesolitarypastureswhereoursheepHalfasleepTinklehomewardthroughthetwilight，strayorstopAstheycrop
Wasthesiteonceofacitygreatandgay……“
SoonafterthereturntoFlorence，which，hotasitwas，waspreferableinJulytoRome，Mrs。BrowningwrotetoherfrequentcorrespondentMissMitford，andmentionedthataboutfourthousandlinesof“AuroraLeigh“hadbeenwritten。Sheaddedasignificantpassage：
thatherhusbandhadnotseenasinglelineofituptothattime
significant，asoneoftheseveralindicationsthattheunionofBrowningandhiswifewasindeedamarriageoftrueminds，whereinnothingofthecommonbaneofmatrimoniallifefoundexistence。
Moreover，bothwereartists，and，therefore，toofullofrespectforthemselvesandtheirarttobringinanywaytheundueinfluenceofeachotherintoplay。
Bythespringof1856，however，thefirstsix“books“wereconcluded：
andthese，atoncewithhumilityandpride，Mrs。Browningplacedinherhusband’shands。Theremainingthreebookswerewritten，inthesummer，inJohnKenyon’sLondonhouse。
Itwasherbest，herfullestanswertothebeautifuldedicatorypoem，“OneWordMore“，wherewithherhusband，afewmonthsearlier，sentforthhis“MenandWomen“，tobeforeverassociatedwith“E。B。B。“
I。
“Theretheyare，myfiftymenandwomenNamingmethefiftypoemsfinished!
Takethem，Love，thebookandmetogether：
Wheretheheartlies，letthebrainliealso。
ThisIsayofme，butthinkofyou，Love!
Thistoyouyourselfmymoonofpoets!
Ah，butthat’stheworld’sside，there’sthewonder，Thustheyseeyou，praiseyou，thinktheyknowyou!
There，inturnIstandwiththemandpraiseyou
Outofmyownself，Idaretophraseit。
ButthebestiswhenIglidefromoutthem，Crossasteportwoofdubioustwilight，Comeoutontheotherside，thenovelSilentsilverlightsanddarksundreamedof，WhereIhushandblessmyselfwithsilence。“
ThetransferencefromFlorencetoLondonwasmadeinMay。
Inthesummer“AuroraLeigh“waspublished，andmetwithanalmostunparalleledsuccess：evenLandor，mostexigentofcritics，declaredthathewas“halfdrunkwithit，“thatithadanimaginationgermanetothatofShakespeare，andsoforth。
ThepoemwasdedicatedtoKenyon，andontheirhomewardwaytheBrowningswerestartledandshockedtohearofhissuddendeath。
BythetimetheyhadarrivedatCasaGuidiagaintheylearnedthattheirgoodfriendhadnotforgottentheminthedispositionofhislargefortune。ToBrowninghebequeathedsixthousand，toMrs。Browningfourthousandguineas。Thislosswasfollowedearlyintheensuingyear1857bythedeathofMr。Barrett，steadfasttothelastinhisrefusalofreconciliationwithhisdaughter。
WintersandsummerspassedhappilyinItalywithoneperiodoffeverishanxiety，whenthelittleboylayforsixweeksdangerouslyill，nurseddayandnightbyhisfatherandmotheralternately
withpleasantoccasionings，asthecompanionshipforaseasonofNathanielHawthorneandhisfamily，orofweeksspentatSienawithvaluedandlifelongfriends，W。W。Story，thepoet-sculptor，andhiswife。
Soearlyas1858Mrs。HawthornebelievedshesawtheheraldsofdeathinMrs。Browning’sexcessivepallorandthehecticflushuponthecheeks，inherextremefragilityandweakness，andinhercatching，flutteringbreath。
Eventhemotionofavisitor’sfanperturbedher。But“hersoulwasmighty，andagreatlovekeptheronearthaseasonlonger。Shewasaseraphinherflamingworshipofheart。““Shelivessoardently，“
addsMrs。Hawthorne，“thatherdelicateearthlyvesturemustsoonbeburntupanddestroyedbyhersoulofpurefire。“
Yet，notwithstanding，shestillsailedtheseasoflife，likeoneofthosefragileargonautsintheirshellsoffoamandrainbow-mistwhichwillwithstandtherudesurgeofwindsandwaves。
Butslowly，gradually，thespiritwaso’erfrettingitstenement。
Withthewaningofherstrengthcamebacktheoldpassionatelongingforrest，forquiescencefromthat“excitementfromwithin“，whichhadbeenalmostovervehementforherinthecalmdaysofherunmarriedlife。
ItissignificantthatatthistimeBrowning’sgeniuswasrelativelydormant。Itswingswererestingforthelong-sustainedflightof“TheRingandtheBook“，andforearlierandshorterthoughnotlessroyalaerialjourneyings。
Butalso，nodoubt，theprolongedcomparativelyunproductiveperiodofeightornineyears1855-1864，betweenthepublicationof“MenandWomen“and“DramatisPersonae“，wasdueinsomemeasuretothepoet’sincessantandanxiouscareforhiswife，tothedeepsorrowofwitnessingherslowbutvisiblepassingaway，andtotheprofoundgriefoccasionedbyherdeath。However，barrennessofimaginativecreativeactivitycanbeonlyveryrelativelyaffirmed，evenofsolongaperiod，ofyearswhereinwerewrittensuchmemorableandtreasurablepoemsas`JamesLee’sWife’，amongBrowning’swritingswhat`Maud’isamongLordTennyson’s；
`GoldHair：aLegendofPornic’；`DisAliterVisum’；
`AbtVogler’，themostnotableproductionofitskindinthelanguage；
`ADeathintheDesert’，thatsingularandimpressivestudy；
`CalibanuponSetebos’，initsstrangepotencyofinterestandstrangerpoeticnote，absolutelyunique；`YouthandArt’；
`ApparentFailure’；`Prospice’，thatnoblelyricaldefianceofdeath；
andthesupremelyloftyandsignificantseriesofweightystanzas，`RabbiBenEzra’，themostquintessentialofallthedistinctivelypsychicalmonologueswhichBrowninghaswritten。Itseemstomethatifthesetwopoemsonly，“Prospice“and“RabbiBenEzra“，weretosurvivetothedayofMacaulay’sNewZealander，thecontemporariesofthatmeditativetravellerwouldhavesufficienttoenablethemtounderstandthegreatfameofthepoetof“dimancestraldays“，asthemoreacuteamongthemcoulddiscernsomethingoftherealShelley，thoughtimehadpreservedbutthethreelines
“Yetnowdespairitselfismild，Evenasthewindsandwatersare；
Icouldliedownlikeatiredchild“