generally), and with the summer come out into the garden, to sit in a
chair and be shone upon, dear, dear friend. I shall be in England then,
and get down to see you this time, and I tenderly hold to the dear hope
of seeing you smile again, and hearing you talk in the old way....

We see a good deal of the Kembles here, and like them both, especially
the Fanny, who is looking magnificent still, with her black hair and
radiant smile. A very noble creature, indeed. Somewhat unelastic,
unpliant to the eye, attached to the old modes of thought and
convention, but noble in quality and defects; I like her much. She
thinks me credulous and full of dreams, but does not despise me for that
reason, which is good and tolerant of her, and pleasant, too, for I
should not be quite easy under her contempt. Mrs. Sartoris is genial and
generous, her milk has had time to stand to cream, in her happy family
relations. The Sartoris's house has the best society at Rome, and
exquisite music, of course. We met Lockhart there, and my husband sees a
good deal of him--more than I do, because of the access of cold weather
lately which has kept me at home chiefly. Robert went down to the
seaside in a day's excursion with him and the Sartoris's; and, I hear,
found favor in his sight. Said the critic: 'I like Browning, he isn't at
all like a damned literary man.' That's a compliment, I believe,
according to your dictionary. It made me laugh and think of you
directly. I am afraid Lockhart's health is in a bad state; he looks very
ill, and every now and then his strength seems to fail. Robert has been
sitting for his picture to Fisher, the English artist, who painted Mr.
Kenyon and Landor; you remember those pictures in Mr. Kenyon's house?
Landor's was praised much by Southey. Well, he has painted Robert, and
it is an admirable likeness.[32] The expression is an exceptional
expression, but highly characteristic; it is one of Fisher's best works.
Now he is about our Wiedeman, and if he succeeds as well in painting
angels as men, will do something beautiful with that seraphic face. You
are to understand that these works are done by the artist _for_ the
artist. Oh, we couldn't afford to have such a luxury as a portrait done
for us. But I am pleased to have a good likeness of each of my treasures
_extant_ in the possession of somebody. Robert's will, of course, be
eminently saleable, and Wiedeman's too, perhaps, for the beauty's sake,
with those blue far