Page:Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Ingram, 5th ed.).djvu/23

Rh than did her husband; what with continuous ill-health and a constant succession of children, she had something else to think of than The Battle of Marathon, or "Hector, son of Priam." In those days it was the father's praise that sounded sweet to the little author's ears; in after life, when too late, a lost mother's love were more often the first thought of her verse.

The principal sharer of Elizabeth's childish amusements was her brother Edward. There was little more than a year's difference in age between them, and as he was, by all accounts, a suitable companion for her in both study and frolic, it was but natural that they should regard each other with intense affection. Alluding to the pet-name by which she was known in the family circle, she says:—

In her earliest volume of poems, published in 1826, Elizabeth included "Verses to my Brother," introduced by the quotation from Lycidas, "For we were nurs'd upon the self-same hill." She addressed him as "Belov'd and best . . . my Brother! dearest, kindest as thou art!" adding:—