abeth Benson was one of the many gifted members of the Lehmann
family; the two eminent painters Henri and Rudolf Lehmann were her
brothers; so too Frederick, her husband's partner in the well-known firm
of ironmasters, Naylor, Vickers & Co. And he, Mr. Benson, was a shrewd
German-American who had amassed a fortune in business and lived in
perfect style. Being a man of culture and refined tastes, he had a
remarkably well selected library and had surrounded himself with many
choice works of art.

Browning's son--he had but one child--was also a welcome guest at 10
Kensington Palace Gardens. He was equally gifted as a musician and as a
painter, so much so, that for a time he seemed inclined to sit down
between two stools and await events. This caused his father some
anxiety, and it was evidently with a feeling of relief, that he came to
tell me one day, that Pen had got up and made his choice of stools in
favour of the one marked Painting. The decision was due to Millais. Pen
had accompanied him on a visit to Scotland, and whilst Millais was
painting his picture of "Scotch Firs," his young friend made a study of
the same subject, which gave evidence of so much talent that Millais
unhesitatingly advised him to devote himself to art. When Browning came
to tell me of the very satisfactory incident, he asked my advice as to
the best opportunity for study open to him. In those days, very
different from the days we can boast of now, the best advice to give was
that he should go abroad. I suggested Antwerp, and further recommended
my friend Heyermans as the best teacher I knew. My advice was taken, and
it led to so excellent a result that Browning never tired of expressing
his gratitude to me for having found the right man and having put his
son in the right place. Under the guidance of that right man Pen made
rapid progress and soon produced very striking work.

When he began to exhibit, no father could be more anxious about a son's
reputation or prouder of his successes, than was Browning. Praise such
as came from the lips or pens of Leighton, Millais, and other friends,
warmed his heart, confirming, as it did, his belief in Pen's powers. He
could be very sensitive too, when full justice was not done to that son,
as when his statue of Driope was refused at the Royal Academy. Young
Browning, not content with using the brush to give shape to his artistic
conceptions, had taken to the sculptor's tools. These he had learned to
han