in the Piazza commemorated the ancient _Fanum Fortunae_ of
tradition, and in the cathedral of San Fortunato were frescoes by
Domenichino, and in the _chiesa_ of Sant' Agostino was the celebrated
painting of Sant' Angelo Custode, by Guercino, which suggested to Browning
his poem "The Guardian Angel." The tender constancy of Browning's
friendship for Alfred Domett is in evidence in this poem, and the beauty
of his reference to his wife,--

"My angel with me, too,..."

lingers with the reader.

In no poem of his entire work has Browning given so complete a revelation
of his own inner life as in this memorable lyric. The picture, dim as is
the light in which it is seen, is one of the most impressive of all
Guercino's works. In the little church of San Paterniano is a "Marriage of
the Virgin," by Guercino, and in the Palazzo del Municipio of Fano is
Guercino's "Betrothal of the Virgin," and the "David" of Domenichino.

The Brownings while in Fano made the excursion to the summit of Monte
Giove, an hour's drive from the Piazza, where was the old monastery and a
wonderful view of the Adriatic, and of the panorama of the Apennines. "We
fled from Fano after three days," wrote Mrs. Browning, "and finding
ourselves cheated out of our dream of summer coolness, we resolved on
substituting for it what the Italians call '_un bel giro_.' So we went to
Ancona ... where we stayed a week, living on fish and cold water." They
found Ancona "a straggling sea city, holding up against the brown rocks,
and elbowing out the purple tides," and Mrs. Browning felt an inclination
to visit it again when they might find a little air and shadow. They went
on to Loreto, and then to Ravenna, where in the early dawn of a summer
morning they stood by the tomb of Dante, deeply touched by the
inscription. All through this journey they had "wonderful visions of
beauty and glory." Returning to Florence, to their terraces, orange trees,
and divine sunsets, one of their earliest visitors in Casa Guidi was
Father Prout, who had chanced to be standing on the dock at Livorno when
they first landed in Italy, from the journey from France, and who now
appeared in Florence on his way to Rome. Mr. Browning had fallen ill after
their trip to Fano, and Father Prout prescribed for him "port wine and
eggs," which _regime_, combined with the racy conversation of the genial
priest, seemed efficacious.

In the meantime Mrs. Browning stood with her husband by the tomb of