Autograph letter signed : [London], to George Goodin Moulton-Barrett, [1846 July 10].

Beginning her letter "I have been pained & perplexed & surprised lately, & you shall hear how"; explaining that Benjamin Haydon, who had committed suicide on June 22, 1846, had left a paper with Thomas Talfourd in which he willed his memoirs and other papers to her, with the understanding that she would edit and publish them; writing that John Forster told John Kenyon about this, and Kenyon came immediately to tell her; expressing how unqualified she feels for this task: "I, without the experience of art & of the world.. who belong to a later generation & know nothing of the persons mentioned or the events referred to--that you must see at a glance. Also it is scarcely work for a woman--"; recounting that, a few days later, Robert Browning had been at a dinner with Talfourd, Forster, Charles Babbage, and Edwin Landseer; writing that during this dinner Talfourd read out loud letters from Mary Russell Mitford and either excerpts or originals of letters by EBB that she had sent to Mitford, reacting to the news of Haydon's death; telling George that the conversation then turned to why and how EBB had received this bequest ("somebody said that Miss Barrett was plainly a very particular friend of Haydon's--& somebody said that her house appeared to be the receptable for his goods against his creditors"), at which point Browning defended her forcefully and explained that she had never even met Haydon, "& had received the things he sent, just as anyone would, who had too much heart to throw them out into the street"; writing that Browning advised her to write immediately to Talfourd, explaining the situation, which she proceeded to do; telling George that Talfourd would probably consult with him on the matter and asking him to be discreet, particularly about the extent of EBB's friendship with Browning; adding news about the Hedleys and the preparations for Arabella Hedley's wedding, as well as the activities of her aunt Arabella Sarah Graham-Clarke ("Bummy") and her daughter Arlette.