llection of Browning's poems, no one excited more
discussion at the time than "The Statue and the Bust." There being then no
Browning Societies to authoritatively decide the poet's real meaning on
any disputed point, the controversy assumed formidable proportions. Did
Browning mean this poem to be an _apologia_ for illegal love? was asked
with bated breath.

The statue of Fernandino di Medici, in the Piazza dell' Annunziata, in
Florence,--that magnificent equestrian group by Giovanni da Bologna,--is
one of the first monuments that the visitor who has a fancy for tracing
out poetic legends fares forth to see. As an example of plastic art,
alone, it is well worth a pilgrimage; but as touched by the magic of the
poet's art, it is magnetic with life. Dating back to 1608, it was left for
Robert Browning to invest it with immortality.

"There's a palace in Florence, the world knows well
And a statue watches it from the square."

In the poem Mr. Browning alludes to the cornice, "where now is the empty
shrine"; but his son believes that there never was any bust in this niche,
the bust being simply the poet's creation. The statue of the Grand Duke is
remarkable enough to inspire any story; and the Florentine noble may well
take pride in the manner that "John of Douay" has presented him, if he
still "contrives" to see it, and still "laughs in his tomb" at the
perpetual pilgrimage that is made to the scene of the legend, as well as
to the royal Villa Petraja, also immortalized in Browning's poem.

June came, the closing books of "Aurora Leigh" had been written, and under
the roof of her dear friend and cousin, Kenyon, who had begged the
Brownings to accept the loan of his house in Devonshire Place, the last
pages were transcribed, and the dedication made to the generous friend who
was the appointed good angel of their lives. They were saddened by
Kenyon's illness, which imprisoned him for that summer on the Isle of
Wight, and after seeing "Aurora Leigh" through the press, they passed a
little time with him at Cowes, and also visited Mrs. Browning's sister
Henrietta (Mrs. Surtees Cook), before setting out for Italy. No one in
London missed them more than Dante Gabriel Rossetti. "With them has gone
one of my delights," he said; "an evening resort where I never felt
unhappy."

[Illustration: EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF FERDINANDO DE' MEDICI,

BY GIOVANNI DA BOLOGNA.

IN THE PIAZZA DELL' ANNUNZIATA, FLORENCE.

"_There's a