somethingoftherealCatullus，throughthemistsofremoteantiquity，iftherehadnotperishedthesinglepassionatecry
“Lesbiailla，IllaLesbia，quamCatullusunamPlusquamse，atquesuosamavitomnes!“
AtthebeginningofJuly1858，theBrowningsleftFlorenceforthesummerandautumn，andbyeasystagestravelledtoNormandy。
Heretheinvalidbenefitedconsiderablyatfirst：andhere，Imayadd，Browningwrotehis`LegendofPornic’，`GoldHair’。
Thispoemoftwenty-sevenfive-linestanzaswhichdiffersonlyfromthatinmorerecent“CollectedWorks“，and“Selections“，initslackofthethreestanzasnownumbered21，22，and23
wasprintedforlimitedprivatecirculation，thoughprimarilyforthepurposeofsecuringAmericancopyright。Browningseveraltimesprintedsinglepoemsthus，andforthesamereasons
thatis，eitherfortransatlanticcopyright，orwhentheverseswerenotlikelytobeincludedinanyvolumeforaprolongedperiod。
Theseleafletsorhalf-sheetletsof`GoldHair’and`Prospice’，of`Cleon’and`TheStatueandtheBust’togetherwiththe`TwoPoemsbyElizabethBarrettandRobertBrowning’，published，forbenefitofacharity，in1854areamongtherarest“finds“
forthecollector，andareliterallyworthagooddealmorethantheirweightingold。
Inthetumultuousyearof1859allItalywasinaferment。
NopatriotamongtheNationalistswasmoreardentinherhopesthanthedelicate，toofragile，dyingpoetess，whoseflameoflifeburnedanewwiththegreathopesthatanimatedherforheradoptedcountry。
Wellindeeddidshedeserve，amongthelineswhichthepoetTommaseowroteandtheFlorencemunicipalitycausedtobeengravedingolduponawhitemarbleslab，tobeplaceduponCasaGuidi，thewords`fecedelsuoversoaureoanellofraItaliaeInghilterra’
“whoofherVersemadeagoldenlinkconnectingEnglandandItaly。“
ThevictoriesofSolferinoandSanMartinomadethebitternessofthedisgracefulTreatyofVillafrancathemorehardtobear。
EvenhadwenotMr。Story’sevidence，itwouldbeanaturalconclusionthatthisdisastrousendingtothehighhopesoftheItalianpatriotsacceleratedMrs。Browning’sdeath。Thewithdrawalofhopeisoftenworseinitsphysicaleffectsthananydirectbodilyill。
Itwasamiserablesummerforbothhusbandandwife，formoreprivatesorrowsalsopresseduponthem。NoteventhesweetautumnalwindsblowinguponSienawaftedawaytheshadowthathadsettledupontheinvalid：
norwastheremedicineforherintheairofRome，wherethewinterwasspent。
Atemporaryrelief，however，wasaffordedbythemoregenialclimate，andinthespringof1860shewasable，withBrowning’shelp，toseeherItalianpatrioticpoemsthroughthepress。Itgoeswithoutsayingthatthese“PoemsbeforeCongress“hadagrudgingreceptionfromthecritics，becausetheydaredtohintthatallwasnotroseate-huedinEngland。
Thetruepatriotsarethosewholovedespiteblemishes，notthosewhocherishtheblemishesalongwiththevirtues。
Tohintataflawis“nottobeanEnglishman。“
TheautumnbroughtanewsadnessinthedeathofMissArabellaBarrett
adearlylovedsister，the“Arabel“ofsomanyaffectionateletters。
OncemoreawinterinRomeprovedtemporallyrestorative。
Butatlastthedaycamewhenshewroteherlastpoem
“NorthandSouth“，agraciouswelcometoHansChristianAndersenontheoccasionofhisfirstvisittotheEternalCity。
EarlyinJuneof1861theBrowningswereoncemoreatCasaGuidi。
Butsoonaftertheirreturntheinvalidcaughtachill。
Forafewdaysshehoveredlikeatiredbirdthoughherfriendssawonlytheseeminglyunquenchablelightinthestarryeyes，anddidnotanticipatethesilencethatwassoontobe。
Bytheeveningofthe28thdayofthemonthshewasinsoreperiloffailingbreath。Allnightherhusbandsatbyher，holdingherhand。
Twohoursbeforedawnsherealisedthatherlastbreathwoulderelongfalluponhistear-wetface。Then，asafriendhastoldus，shepassedintoastateofecstasy：yetnotsoraptthereinbutthatshecouldwhispermanywordsofhope，evenofjoy。
Withthefirstlightofthenewday，sheleanedagainstherlover。
Awhileshelaythusinsilence，andthen，softlysighing“Itisbeautiful!“
passedlikethewindyfragranceofaflower。
Chapter9。
Itisneedlesstodwelluponwhatfollowed。Theworldhasallthatneedbeknown。ToBrowninghimselfitwastheabrupt，thetoodeeplypathetic，yetnotwhollyunhappyendingofalovelierpoemthananyheoranothershouldeverwrite，thepoemoftheirmarriedlife。
Thereisarareserenityinthethoughtofdeathwhenitisknowntobethegateoflife。ThisconvictionBrowninghad，andsohisgriefwasratherthatofonewhosejoyhaswesteredearlier。
Thesweetestmusicofhislifehadwithdrawn：buttherewasstillmusicforonetowhomlifeinitselfwasahappiness。Hehadhisson，andwasnotvoidofothersolace：butevenhaditbeenotherwisehewasofthestrenuousnatureswhoneversuccumb，norwishtodie
whateveraccidentofmortalityovercomethewillandthepower。
Itwasintheautumnfollowinghiswife’sdeaththathewrotethenoblepoemtowhichallusionhasalreadybeenmade：“Prospice“。
Whodoesnotthrilltoitsclose，whenallofgloomorterror“Shallchange，shallbecomefirstapeaceoutofpain，Thenalight，thenthybreast，Othousoulofmysoul!Ishallclasptheeagain，AndwithGodbetherest。“
TherearefewdirectallusionstohiswifeinBrowning’spoems。
Ofthosepriortoherdeaththemostbeautifulis“OneWordMore“，whichhasbeenalreadyquotedinpart：ofthetwoorthreesubsequenttothateventnonesurpassesthemagiccloseofthefirstpartof“TheRingandtheBook“。
Thereafterthedetailsofhislifearepublicproperty。
Heallalonglivedinthelight，partlyfromhispossessionofthatserenitywhichmadeGoethegladtobealiveandtobeabletomakeothersshareinthatgladness。Nopoethasbeenmorereveredandmoreloved。
Hispersonalitywilllongbeastirringtradition。Inthepresenceofhissimplemanlinessandwealthofallgenerousqualitiesoneisinclinedtopassbyasvalueless，asthemereflyingsprayofthewelcomeshower，themanyhonoursandgratificationsthatbefellhim。
Evenifthesethingsmattered，concerningonebywhosegeniuswearefascinated，whileundazzledbythemereaccidentspertinentthereto，theirrecitalwouldbewearisomeofhowhewasaskedtobeLordRectorofthisUniversity，ormadeadoctoroflawsatthat：
ofhowlettersandtributesofallkindscametohimfromeverydistrictinourEmpire，fromeverycountryintheworld：andsoforth。
Allthesethingsareimpliedinthecircumstancethathislifewasthroughout“anoblemusicwithagoldenending。“
In1866hisfatherdiedinParis，strenuousinlifeuntiltheveryend。
AfterthiseventMissSariannaBrowningwenttoresidewithherbrother，andfromthattimeonwardwashisinseparablecompanion，andeveroneofthedearestandmosthelpfuloffriends。
Inlatteryearsbrotherandsisterwereconstantlyseentogether，andsoregularattendantsweretheyatsuchfunctionsasthe“PrivateViews“
attheRoyalAcademyandGrosvenorGallery，thattheseneverseemedcompletewithoutthem。APrivateView，afirstappearanceofJoachimorSarasate，afirstconcertofRichterorHenschelorHalle，ateachofthese，almosttoacertainty，thepoetwassuretoappear。
Thechiefpersonalhappinessofhislaterlifewasinhisson。
Mr。R。BarrettBrowningissowellknownasapainterandsculptorthatitwouldbesuperfluousformetoaddanythingfurtherhere，excepttostatethathissuccesseswerehisfather’skeenestpleasures。
Twoyearsafterhisfather’sdeath，thatisin1868，the“PoeticalWorksofRobertBrowning，M。A。，HonoraryFellowofBalliolCollege，Oxford“，wereissuedinsixvolumes。
HeretheequatorofBrowning’sgeniusmaybedrawn。Onthefurthersideliethe“MenandWomen“oftheperiodanteriorto“TheRingandtheBook“：
midwayisthetransitionalzoneitself：onthehithersidearethe“MenandWomen“ofamoretemperateifnotcolderclime。
Thefirstpartof“TheRingandtheBook“wasnotpublishedtillNovember。
InSeptemberthepoetwasstayingwithhissisterandsonatLeCroisic，apicturesquevillageatthemouthoftheLoire，attheendofthegreatsaltplainswhichstretchdownfromGuerandetotheBayofBiscay。