They disputed the will on the alleged
plea of the testator's insanity. The trial was interrupted by the
events of 1870, but finally settled in the lady's favour; the verdict
being uncompromising as to her moral, as well as legal claim to the
inheritance.

Mr. Browning had lately stood outside the grounds of Clairvaux, and seen
its lady pass. She was insignificant in face and expression; and he was
reduced to accounting for the power she had exercised, by that very
fact. She seemed a blank surface, on which a man could inscribe, or
fancy he was inscribing, himself; and it is a matter of fact that,
whether from strength of will, or from the absence of it, she presented
such a surface to her lover's hand. She humoured his every inclination,
complied with his every wish. And because she did no more than this, and
also no less, Mr. Browning pronounces her far from the best of women,
but by no means one of the worst. The two had, after all, up to a
certain point, redeemed each other.

The title of the book arose as follows. The narrative is addressed (as
the volume is dedicated) to Miss Annie Thackeray; and its supposed
occasion is that of a meeting which took place at St. Rambert--actually
St. Aubin--between her and Mr. Browning, in the summer of 1872. She had
laughingly called the district "White Cotton Night-Cap Country," from
its sleepy appearance, and the universal white cap of even its male
inhabitants. Mr. Browning, being acquainted with the tragedy of
Clairvaux, thought "_Red_ Cotton Night-Cap Country" would be a more
appropriate name; and adopted it for his story, as Miss Thackeray had
adopted hers for one which she promised to write. But he represents
himself as playing at first with the idea; and as leading the listener's
mind, from the suggestions of white night-caps to those of the red one:
and null the outward calmness of the neighbouring country, to the tragic
possibilities which that calmness conceals.

The supplementary heading, "Turf and Towers," must have been inspired by
the literal facts of the case; but it supplies an analogy for the
contrasted influences which fought for Miranda's soul. The "tower"
represents the militant or religious life. The "turf," the
self-indulgent; and the figure appears and reappears at every stage of
the man's career. The attempt at compromise is symbolized by a pavilion:
a structure aping solidity, but only planted on the turf. The final
attempt at union is spoken of as an