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About The Augusta daily herald. (Augusta, Ga.) 1908-1914 | View Entire Issue (April 15, 1909)
Evert Conceivable Romantic Allure - ment-But Cupid Ran Away, !*§ IN Venice It 1* declared that whf*n Mrs. Barrett Browning shut behind her the gr*iit door* of the Palazzo R«z roniro it was positively the last time she would cross Its portals, ami with It she • hut out her artist husband front her life forever. What a complete contrast between 'he 111-assorted and disastrous marriage of the younger Brownings to that perfect love Idyl of Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, the artist's parents! The Ist ter has been characterized as one of the most beautiful love stories in all history. The marriage of the Barrett Brownings has been strewn with wr«-- k H ge of Illus ions from the beginning. Finally they have fully recognized the utter nullity of it all and have ended what was simply a life of sheer misery. The wonder is that the absolute rupture did not happen long ago. It's a pitiably Interesting story. If there was ever an opportunity for supreme and enduring love one would ex pect to find ft In the fairy-like stage set ting of Venice, where Barrett Brown ing and his bride began their llfo to gether. He was rich, an at fist, a man of leisure, and over his head hung the halo of being the sole offspring of that perfectly Ideal union of two great poets Nowhere, It would seem, could one find a more entrancing spot, with more en chanting surroundings In which to build a nest and nestle forever. But Cupid wouldn’t stay and nestia. I,lfo In a gondola 1 Ith the Brownings has not glided a* smoothly as that pretty craft does over the still lagoons. And so Mr. Browning has gone up Into the hills to spend his days with his ven erable aunt In Asolo, and Mrs. Brown ing has shut up the vast Hczzonloo end packing all her personal posses sions In n gondola she, with Cupid In the stern, left the place to memories. Yet the marriage of Barrett Browning to Mins Haddington was something of a nine days’ wonder, anyway, to the Inti mate mutual friends of both, for their Very natures were antipodal. Miss Cod dtngton belonged to an old, conservative New York family whose habitat was lower Fifth avenue before the Invasion of the Vanderbilts and tho other nouveau riches Hhe had been brought up In the staid ultra-conservative atmosphere of that era and was decidedly proper and particular In all her acts. 111-natured pei sons even went so far as to call her narrow minded and provincial. Young Browning whm exactly her re verse. Born and brought up In light, gay and laughter-loving Florence, he had ■i n 11 i ■ I' I mn i i"i ini' n, iiuii breathed In from hi* birth the Joyous air of Italy, and with a Continental educa tion and n constant touch with Conti nental ao<*!oty, rcNultlUK In hla becom ing an anlub with all the freedom of thought Whlah that Imp]lon In landa how did It happen that ho ahould link htmaolf to tho noinewhat auatoro and rontalnly Puritanical Fanny CoddlngtonT That thoro would bo a olnnh of tom-' poramentn early in their honeymoon waa obvloua to any close obaorvor. The first rupture canto not quito no soon na was expected, but It came and mo«' disastrously. Before Robert Browning died In 1800 ho bought for himself tho storied and stately paluco called tho Kexaonlco on tho Grand ('anal lit Venice, whoso ex ceeding beauties he had so often glorified In verse. And it was thoro that Robert Browning died. At his death It passed to his only child, and It was there that liarrett Browning Installed hla bride. It Is a commonplace that Venice, with Ita gondolas. Its sunsets and Its moon light, Its music and Its unreality, is the earthy paradise for lovers One may as sume that Barrett Browning and his wife dreamed away this earliest portion of their lives together like nil other lovers under the spell of a honeymoon In an old romantic palace lu that city of dreams. The Rssxonlco, as everybody knows who has visited the fine old palace, was certainly a most attractive abode In which to set up one’s house That It is rarely splendid goes without saving. It was built lit 1080, and ever since has been covered with romance as with a garment. It was filled v h treasures, which had boon gathered up from all the four comers of Italy In the days before collectors had really begun to atrip the country, and at every nook and comer 'here was some reminder of the poet Browning and his poet wife. And more besides, there were the works of her own artist husband, portraits of hla father and mother In oils, marble and bronae, and In pen and Ink, while the antique furniture and old canvases were the de eps tr of connoisseurs. Miss Coddlkgton was rich In her own right site had an inheritance of $1,000,- OOCi, which In Venice is^ equal to about ,*n Uidh th*t amount In Amwlc* «ml. Why Gum Chewing Is a Good Thing. That in, ch»wm* of rum t, not th* pernicious habit It «n* onco oon slvSoro.l sootn* to l>o * r l '° —' *** opinion among who havo gtv«n ttia manor careful aludjr. Koine eminent member, of the protpaelon even rv «■> (»r a, to ,«v that under certain c»n.tt tltu It 1, actually a very benetlolal tiling partloutarty for children only when the teeth are tn their proper position with each of them per forming lie functions as nature Intended e,e , child develop perfectly and attain the higher etandard of beauty that ta Inherent to hie type One tooth ellghtly out of Ite normal place le sufficient to spoil a face which might otherwise show the tnoet harmonious lines These de fects can never be remedied if the child an unusual thing with poets, the Brown ings were rs h, not from the sales of their books, but by Inheritance also. Elizabeth Barrett Brownings patrimony amounted to nearly $.1^0,000, was well In vested. and increased considerably In value during her lifetime. Robert Browning ha i an income of 918,000, all of which fell on the latter's death to Barrett Browning. Bo materially and aestheti cally the marriage of Mr. and Mrs Bar rett Browning Started under most favor able auspices. Only the bridegroom had the free nod easy, unconventional artistic temperament; the bride quite otherwise. Ills friends Insisted at the time that If he had been a poor man he would have been a better artist, and some of them didn’t hesitate to add that Miss « ton and her million dollars would be but a further interference to his career. At the time of hi* marriage Barrett Browning had been a happy bachelor for nearly forty years. Jlls friends all knew him its a most congenial companion, “an uncommonly good fellow,” and in his villa near Florence he had been accustomed to entertain en garoon In a princely and de lightfully Bohemian manner. As a mat ter of foot young Mr. Browning had in herited ;t a little of ids father's joy of Just living, but In Itls case he had no wife “half angel and half bird" to tether him with her overwhelming love. Could Fanny Coddlngton hope to be to him the spiritual and Intellectual help W ■ I » mil 1 " 1 I ■ ■ *wHSf : ‘ IBr ' *'.; Jj|F Mr. Barrett Browning. nmlc (hut Eltznheth Barrett was to Rob ert Browning 7 The answer name In 1808 Th* prophets of the past raised their eyelids mildly and chorused “1 told you so ” Mts. Brown- Ins suddenly test the Palazzo Uezxonlco In a state of the highest Indignation, vow Ing she would never, never again live with her husband The cause was not long In coming to the surface, although Mrs. Browning herself was dlgnllled and real cent. The Impulse was due solely to jealousy of one of Browning’s model*. Now. whatever may be the Continental Idea of an artist * conduct in his atelier, to the prim Burttan conscience to bring one of yoqr artist * models Into your own home and !¥IMaII her under the very name roof and at the very same table with the wife ami chatelaine of your palace Is simply unendurable. And further, this tnmlel ehe was an old, old friend and a Florentine was extremely beautiful. ihat to the artistic Imagination of Barrett Browning this model and Inmate of their household may have been a pleasurable relief to the rigid propriety of the artist » wife Is likely enough. But what Mrs, Browning was pleased to call a gratuitous insult to her wifehood and womanhood. Mi Browning explained otherwise. That he had ever entertained any Is fed on hash, croquettes and other pre-dlgestcd food What he tmfet have is something more solid which will give the muscles of his jaws sufficient exercise and thus force the teeth Into their right places. Many dentists are advising parents of children whose faces me too narrow and whose jaws are not sufficiently de veloped to make them chew gum The constant exercise has a tendency to widen an otherwise narrow jaw and thus make room for teeth that show evidence of crowding each other out of place. Chewing gum steadily for three or four hours a day has most desirable results In changing the dwarfed formation of a child s jaw bun when there la no defect of the % * J| 2 m§|2t ; lOjffi m ii ', WmpwflKm >. life TV, ”'Zfi *ZMSI jwal Ik' « Elizabeth Barrett Browning. (I'roni Ihe Portrait by Field In I fount.) teeth or jaw to be corrected, gum chew ing I* b*m Octal because it exercises the muscles of maatioatlon. thereby Improv ing the digestion and the consequent nourishment. One reason why so many people ruin their health by rapid eating is that na children tnelr Jaw muscles never received enough exercise. It I* quite generally agreed that, pro vided the gum used 1* pure and whole some. It ennnot possibly do harm either to a chikl or an adult. And tn many case* It may accomplish great good not only In developing the muscle* of mas tication and aiding digestion, but also In keeping the teeth clean and white. When a child's gums are teuder and easily Irritated by the tooth brush, gum chew ing becomes almost a necessity. Copyright, 1900. by American-Examlner. Orest Britain Rights Reserved^ The Splendid and Romantic R-zzonico Palace, in Venice, Where the Barrett Brownings Fov.-d Only Disillusion and * gs- Unhappiness. thing hut the most platonic relations with tho Florentine he denied ve hemently, and It was further given out that she had been Invited to the pal ace -with tho full consent of Mrs. Browning Mrs. Browning’s friends re plied that she had been nursing a viper In her bosom and Mr. Browning reso- Robert Browning As He Lay Dead in the Rezzonico Palace. lutely on h!s part refused to turn the model out. * If Mrs. Browning unreasonably and hysterically desires to withdraw- from my home,” said Mr. Browning, with the politest calm, “that is her privilege. But I shall not turn this young lady away now. for it 1 did so 1 would blast ifii jt¥ i I -'jr an inr.ooer.t i; it itlon on account of malicious Longues. That would be a wrong that would be Irreparable and ab solutely unjustifiable.” Thus ended the first chapter in the troubling union of the Barrett Brownings. Mrs. Browning w'ent Into strict re tirement and was rarely heard of. Mr. Browning kept on painting and the model remained, till after a while a young Italian engineer met and fell In love with her, and not until then did she leave the shelter of Mr. Browning. When she did leave finally It was as an honorable wife. When the menage of the artist was ridden of her presence. Lady Henry Austen Layard, the widow of the fa < ioua Assvriologist, It is said, saw- a possible chance for a reconciliation be tween the Brownings and at a favora ble moment Mr. Browning received a telegram briefly announcing that Mrs. Browning was coming home. Mr. Browning was sojourning at Asolo, where his father wrote his last book of poetry, but he hastened back to w-hat he called “the splendid dreari ness of the Rezzonico," opened it up and prepared the finest supper to wel come the home-coming of his spouse. But It is an open secret that while to all outward appearances the Brown ings were reconciled again, they were utterly unhappy and constrained. At times when the restraint between them became unbearable the artist would take refuge in Asolo, tmsVirg himself, so he excused himself, with perfecting tho industrial school which was to be a memorial to his poet mother, while the artist's wife remained behind sad and desolated in the cold old palace. Matters were not bettered when at one time, while both were In residence at Asolo, the Florentine returned to pay flSSii a visit Mrs. Browning hastened back to Venice and shut herself up till the objectionable visitor went home to i'adoa, and from that time the life of the Brownings together, to put It most mildly, was completely miserable In Venice —which was never noted for the rigidity of ita social morals. they compared Mrs. Browning’s pro nounced# virtue to Lady Byron’s— Venetian society never* quite liked Mrs. Browning. ‘And It’s so on parade all time," remarked one old cat of a Countess Then followed more sporadic and spasmodic attempts to make It up again for good and all, to be followed by Browning fleeing to the hills for a respite, and Mrs. Browning to solitude and tears. The life at last became utterly im possible. It was a house of cards. And they saw it fall with despair, drearily noticed the futility of any repairs to it. And so it is that Mrs. Browning has left the palace again and this time, she avows with much bitterness, forever. It is very saddening to all Barrett Browning’s intimates that the only child of that most sacred bond between two of the noblest poets of their century should have In this case been a complete disillusionment, and the great pity of it is the sordid ending of the whole mis take. For it is rumored. If not confirmed, that Mrs. Browning Is about to bring a suit against her husband for the restitu tion of a part of her fortune which she deeded to him at the time of their first reconciliation. When the Brownings sep arated the last time and Browning him self fled to Asolo to live with his aged aunt, Miss Sarinnna Browning, the poet's sister and llielong devotee to him. Mrs. Browning shut up the palace, dismissed the servants and went Into economical lodgings on a back campo. It was re ported that during the six years’ es trangement at that period half of her An Opinion of the American Girl. By An Englishwoman. t THE story of Anglo-American mar riages is full of incident- Some have turned out' Ideal, others very much the reverse. But the frank barter between dollars on the one side and a title upon the other Is far less common *han it used to bo. The Eng glishman now realizes that his Ameri can wife will never retire Into the background; the American girl that her husband, however much he may be in love with her. will never stoop to the position of a slavish adorer. The real reason of failure is, In most cases, pretty much the same. A young American society girl, whose parent* can barely distinguish between a baron and an archduke, becomes engaged to a nobleman whoso vast estates lie In a tract of country which they cannot pick out on the map. She contracts what her friends and the society writ ers describe as a “brilliant alliance." and her heart thrills with the sound of her new name and the sight of her armorial bearings. She awakens abroad from this dream of joy to find that her husband’s estates consist of weary stretches of unproductive land which bring in no revenue; that the ancient ••seat" is a tumble-down castle beyond hope of repair; that her husband * at- And So the Married Life of Barrett Browning, the One Child of that Perfect Union Between Robert and Elizabeth Browning, and His American Wife Has Ended In Most Dismal Disillusion, and Their Idyllic Venetian Palacf Left to Desolation. fortune of a million dollar* had he*n swallowed up. Now again she has closed the great doors of the Rezzonico, stored away the gondola, gathered up all her personal belongings and once more has taken rooms In an obscure pension, pending the settlement of their complete rupture, and Is devoting herself to the poor of Venice to forget One may wonder If she ever In her unhappiness’ recalls with a sigh that ex quisite sonnet which his mother sung to his father: How do 1 love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and Ideal grace; I love thee to the level of every day’s Most quiet need, by sun and candle light; I love thee freely, as men strive for right; I love thee purely, as they turn from praise; I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith; I love thee w r ith a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath. Smiles, tears of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death. fairs are frightfully Involved; that be has been living upon his wits, and ex ploiting his birth in any venture which brings In ready money. The unhappy girl is too proud to breathe a word which would acquaint her parents and friends with her hapless plight. She would rather suffer In silence than expose herself to the pity of those who buzzed round her in envious admira tion upon the great day of her wedding. But now things are a little changed. American parents, although still attracted by an English title, have grown more solicitous for the daughter's happiness, arid have learned to “size up" their pros pective son-in-law as a man first and as a nobleman afterwards. The American girl, given plenty of rope, makes the most charming of wives. She has all the qualities which me nage attractive and help to keep at bay the fiend —Dulness. She talks well, dresses well, looks well. She Is alive from the points of her dainty shoee to the last tiny strand of her coiffure. But she must have plenty of rope. She must be allowed her own pursuits, her own Inter ests. her own circle of friends —and, most Important of all. her own point of view. If she runs up against a husband who la a taskmaster she turns from angel to devlL
