Life and Letters of Robert Browning [31]
soon after this time, though the exact date cannot be recalled,
that the Browning family moved from Camberwell to Hatcham.
Some such change had long been in contemplation, for their house
was now too small; and the finding one more suitable, in the latter place,
had decided the question. The new home possessed great attractions.
The long, low rooms of its upper storey supplied abundant accommodation
for the elder Mr. Browning's six thousand books. Mrs. Browning
was suffering greatly from her chronic ailment, neuralgia;
and the large garden, opening on to the Surrey hills, promised her
all the benefits of country air. There were a coach-house and stable,
which, by a curious, probably old-fashioned, arrangement,
formed part of the house, and were accessible from it.
Here the `good horse', York, was eventually put up; and near this,
in the garden, the poet soon had another though humbler friend
in the person of a toad, which became so much attached to him
that it would follow him as he walked. He visited it daily,
where it burrowed under a white rose tree, announcing himself
by a pinch of gravel dropped into its hole; and the creature
would crawl forth, allow its head to be gently tickled,
and reward the act with that loving glance of the soft full eyes
which Mr. Browning has recalled in one of the poems of `Asolando'.
This change of residence brought the grandfather's second family,
for the first time, into close as well as friendly contact with the first.
Mr. Browning had always remained on outwardly friendly terms
with his stepmother; and both he and his children were rewarded
for this forbearance by the cordial relations which grew up between themselves
and two of her sons. But in the earlier days they lived too far apart
for frequent meeting. The old Mrs. Browning was now a widow,
and, in order to be near her relations, she also came to Hatcham,
and established herself there in close neighbourhood to them.
She had then with her only a son and a daughter, those known
to the poet's friends as Uncle Reuben and Aunt Jemima;
respectively nine years, and one year, older than he.
`Aunt Jemima' married not long afterwards, and is chiefly remembered
as having been very amiable, and, in early youth, to use her nephew's words,
`as beautiful as the day;' but kindly, merry `Uncle Reuben',
then clerk in the Rothschilds' London bank,* became a conspicuous member
of the family circle. This does not mean that the poet was ever
indebted to him for pecuniary help; and it is desirable that this
should be understood, since it has been confidently asserted that he was so.
So long as he was dependent at all, he depended exclusively on his father.
Even the use of his uncle's horse, which might have been accepted
as a friendly concession on Mr. Reuben's part, did not really represent one.
The animal stood, as I have said, in Mr. Browning's stable,
and it was groomed by his gardener. The promise of these conveniences
had induced Reuben Browning to buy a horse instead of continuing to hire one.
He could only ride it on a few days of the week, and it was rather a gain
than a loss to him that so good a horseman as his nephew should exercise it
during the interval.
--
* This uncle's name, and his business relations with the great Jewish firm,
have contributed to the mistaken theory of the poet's descent.
--
Uncle Reuben was not a great appreciator of poetry -- at all events
of his nephew's; and an irreverent remark on `Sordello', imputed to
a more eminent contemporary, proceeded, under cover of a friend's name,
from him. But he had his share of mental endowments. We are told that
he was a good linguist, and that he wrote on finance under an assumed name.
He was also, apparently, an accomplished classic. Lord Beaconsfield
is said to have declared that the inscription on a silver inkstand,
presented to the daughter of Lionel Rothschild on her marriage,
by the clerks at New Court, `was the most appropriate thing
he had ever come across;' and that whoever had selected it must
that the Browning family moved from Camberwell to Hatcham.
Some such change had long been in contemplation, for their house
was now too small; and the finding one more suitable, in the latter place,
had decided the question. The new home possessed great attractions.
The long, low rooms of its upper storey supplied abundant accommodation
for the elder Mr. Browning's six thousand books. Mrs. Browning
was suffering greatly from her chronic ailment, neuralgia;
and the large garden, opening on to the Surrey hills, promised her
all the benefits of country air. There were a coach-house and stable,
which, by a curious, probably old-fashioned, arrangement,
formed part of the house, and were accessible from it.
Here the `good horse', York, was eventually put up; and near this,
in the garden, the poet soon had another though humbler friend
in the person of a toad, which became so much attached to him
that it would follow him as he walked. He visited it daily,
where it burrowed under a white rose tree, announcing himself
by a pinch of gravel dropped into its hole; and the creature
would crawl forth, allow its head to be gently tickled,
and reward the act with that loving glance of the soft full eyes
which Mr. Browning has recalled in one of the poems of `Asolando'.
This change of residence brought the grandfather's second family,
for the first time, into close as well as friendly contact with the first.
Mr. Browning had always remained on outwardly friendly terms
with his stepmother; and both he and his children were rewarded
for this forbearance by the cordial relations which grew up between themselves
and two of her sons. But in the earlier days they lived too far apart
for frequent meeting. The old Mrs. Browning was now a widow,
and, in order to be near her relations, she also came to Hatcham,
and established herself there in close neighbourhood to them.
She had then with her only a son and a daughter, those known
to the poet's friends as Uncle Reuben and Aunt Jemima;
respectively nine years, and one year, older than he.
`Aunt Jemima' married not long afterwards, and is chiefly remembered
as having been very amiable, and, in early youth, to use her nephew's words,
`as beautiful as the day;' but kindly, merry `Uncle Reuben',
then clerk in the Rothschilds' London bank,* became a conspicuous member
of the family circle. This does not mean that the poet was ever
indebted to him for pecuniary help; and it is desirable that this
should be understood, since it has been confidently asserted that he was so.
So long as he was dependent at all, he depended exclusively on his father.
Even the use of his uncle's horse, which might have been accepted
as a friendly concession on Mr. Reuben's part, did not really represent one.
The animal stood, as I have said, in Mr. Browning's stable,
and it was groomed by his gardener. The promise of these conveniences
had induced Reuben Browning to buy a horse instead of continuing to hire one.
He could only ride it on a few days of the week, and it was rather a gain
than a loss to him that so good a horseman as his nephew should exercise it
during the interval.
--
* This uncle's name, and his business relations with the great Jewish firm,
have contributed to the mistaken theory of the poet's descent.
--
Uncle Reuben was not a great appreciator of poetry -- at all events
of his nephew's; and an irreverent remark on `Sordello', imputed to
a more eminent contemporary, proceeded, under cover of a friend's name,
from him. But he had his share of mental endowments. We are told that
he was a good linguist, and that he wrote on finance under an assumed name.
He was also, apparently, an accomplished classic. Lord Beaconsfield
is said to have declared that the inscription on a silver inkstand,
presented to the daughter of Lionel Rothschild on her marriage,
by the clerks at New Court, `was the most appropriate thing
he had ever come across;' and that whoever had selected it must