* * * *

Shortly after this date, on April 17, Mrs. Browning's father died. In
the course of the previous summer an attempt made by a relative to bring
about a reconciliation between him and his daughters was met with the
answer that they had 'disgraced his family;' and, although he professed
to have 'forgiven' them, he refused all intercourse, removed his family
out of town when the Brownings came thither, and declined to give his
daughter Henrietta's address to Mr. Kenyon's executor, who was
instructed to pay her a small legacy. A further attempt at
reconciliation was made by Mrs. Martin only a few months before his
death, but had no better success. His pride stood in the way of his
forgiveness to the end.

On receiving the news of his death, the following letter was written by
Robert Browning to Mrs. Martin; but it was not until two months later
that Mrs. Browning was able to bring herself to write to anyone outside
her own family.

* * * * *

_Robert Browning to Mrs. Martin_

Florence: May 3, 1857.

My dear Mrs. Martin,--Truest thanks for your letter. We had the
intelligence from George last Thursday week, having been only prepared
for the illness by a note received from Arabel the day before. Ba was
sadly affected at first; miserable to see and hear. After a few days
tears came to her relief. She is now very weak and prostrated, but
improving in strength of body and mind: I have no fear for the result. I
suppose you know, at least, the very little that we know; and how
unaware poor Mr. Barrett was of his imminent death: 'he bade them,' says
Arabel, 'make him comfortable for the night, but a moment before the
last.' And he had dismissed her and her aunt about an hour before, with
a cheerful or careless word about 'wishing them good night.' So it is
all over now, all hope of better things, or a kind answer to entreaties
such as I have seen Ba write in the bitterness of her heart. There must
have been something in the organisation, or education, at least, that
would account for and extenuate all this; but it has caused grief
enough, I know; and now here is a new grief not likely to subside very
soon. Not that Ba is other than reasonable and just to herself in the
matter: she does not reproach herself at all; it is all mere grief, as I
say, that this should have been _so_; and I sympathise with her there.

George wrote very affectionately to tell me; and d