f St. John with a largish
room one could paint in (to N. or NE.)?" The idea of his taking up his
permanent abode so far out of the market circle was, I well knew, just
one of those impracticable notions which, with Rossetti, were abandoned
as soon as conceived, so I was not surprised to hear from him as
follows, by the succeeding post: "In what I wrote yesterday I said
something as to a possibility of leaving town, but I now perceive this
is not practicable at present; therefore need not trouble you to take
note of neighbouring houses." Presently he wrote again: "Bedevilments
thicken: the garden is ploughed up, and I 've not stirred out of the
house for a week: I must leave this place at once if I am to leave it
alive." {*}

* It is but just to say that, although Rossetti wrote thus
peevishly of what was quite inevitable,--the yielding up of
his fine garden,--he would at other times speak of the great
courtesy and good-nature of Messrs. Pemberton, in allowing
him the use of the garden after it had been severed from the
property he hired.

"My present purpose is to take another house in London. Could you not
come down and beat up agents for me? I know you will not deny me your
help. I hear of a house at Brixton, with a garden of two acres, and only
L130 a year." In a day or two even this last hope had proved delusive:
"I find the house at Brixton will not do, and I hear of nothing else....
I am anxious as to having become perfectly deaf on the right side of
my head. Partial approaches to this have sometimes occurred to me and
passed away, so I will not be too much troubled at it." A little later
he wrote: "Now my housekeeper is leaving me, her mother being very ill.
Can you not come to my assistance? Come at once and we will set sail
in one boat." I appear to have replied to this last appeal in a tone
of some little scepticism as to his remaining long in the same mind
relative to our mutual housemating, for subsequently he says: "At this
writing I can see no likelihood of my not remaining in the mind that,
in case of your coming to London, your quarters should be taken up here.
The house is big enough for two, even if they meant to be strangers to
each other. You would have your own rooms and we should meet just when
we pleased. You have got a sufficient inkling of my exceptional habits
not to be scared by them. It is true, at times my health and spirits are
variable, but I am sure we shou