question of the marring or making of a man which results from the
creation of a poet; but if my brother had known Mrs. Browning as well
as I knew her, he would not have written that he could "hardly believe
that she herself believes in the doctrine that her fancy has led her
to illustrate." At all events, the divine afflatus had not so marred
the absolutely single-minded truthfulness of the woman in her as
to make it possible that she should, for the sake of illustrating,
however appositely, any fancy however brilliant, put forth a
"doctrine" as believing in it, which she did not believe. It may seem
that this is a foolish making of a mountain out of a molehill; but she
would not have felt it to be so. She had so high a conception of the
poet's office and responsibilities that nothing would have induced her
to play at believing for literary purposes any position, or fancy, or
imagination, which she did not in her heart of hearts accept.

There was one subject upon which both my wife and I disagreed in
opinion with Mrs. Browning; and it was a subject which sat very near
her heart, and was much occupying all minds at that time--the phases
of Italy's struggle for independence, and especially the part which
the Emperor Napoleon the Third was taking in that struggle, and his
conduct towards Italy. We were all equally "Italianissimi," as the
phrase went then; all equally desirous that Italy should accomplish
the union of her _disjecta membra_, throw off the yoke of the bad
governments which had oppressed her, make herself a nation, and do
well as such. But we differed widely as to the ultimate utility, the
probable results, and, above all, as to the motives of the Emperor's
conduct. Mrs. Browning believed in him and trusted him. We did
neither. Hence the following interesting and curious letter, written
to my wife at Florence by Mrs. Browning, who was passing the summer at
Siena. Mrs. Browning felt very warmly upon this subject--so indeed did
my wife, differing from her _toto coelo_ upon it. But the difference
not only never caused the slightest suspension of cordial feeling
between them, but never caused either of them to doubt for a moment
that the other was with equal sincerity and equal ardour anxious for
the same end. The letter was written, as only the postmark shows, on
September 26th, 1859, and was as follows:--

* * * * *

"MY DEAR MRS. TROLLOPE,--I feel doubly ungrateful to you ... f