[228] 17. =Bideford= in Devon was the birthplace of Sir Richard Grenville. In the sixteenth century it was one of England's chief seaports and sent seven vessels to fight the Armada. It is described in the opening chapter of _Westward Ho!_ [229] 21. The =thumbscrew= was an instrument of torture employed by the Inquisition. [230] 21. Victims of the Inquisition were sometimes tied to a =stake= and burned alive. [231] 30. =Seville= is a city in southwestern Spain. It is here to be pronounced with the accent on the first syllable. [232] 31. =Don=; a Spanish title of rank, here used to designate any Spaniard. [233] 46. =Galleon=; a name applied to sailing vessels of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. ROBERT BROWNING Robert Browning was born at Camberwell, May 7, 1812, and died at Venice, December 12, 1889. Browning's father, as his grandfather had been, was employed in the Bank of England. Mr. Browning, who was an indulgent father, decided that his son's education should be under private tutors. This lack of being educated with other boys is sometimes supposed to have been one of the causes why Browning found difficulty in expressing his thoughts clearly to other people. It was at first planned that Browning should become a lawyer, but as he had no taste for this, his father agreed to allow his son to adopt literature as a profession. When Browning had made his choice, he read Johnson's Dictionary for preparation. _Pauline_, his first published poem, attracted almost no attention, but Browning kept on writing, regardless of inattention. The actor, Macready, with whom he became friendly, turned Browning's attention to the writing of plays, but he was never successful as a writer for the stage. On his return from his second visit to Italy, in 1844, he read Miss Elizabeth Barrett's _Lady Geraldine's Courtship_ and expressed so much appreciation of this poem that, on the suggestion of a common friend, he wrote to tell Miss Barrett how much he liked her work. This was the beginning of one of the famous literary love affairs of the world. Although Miss Barrett was several years older than Browning and a great invalid, they were married, against family opposition, in 1846, and went immediately to Italy. Mrs. Browning's health was now much improved, and she lived till 1861. On her death, Browning, greatly overcome, returned to England. Gradually he went more and more into society, and as his popularity as a poet increased, he became a well-known figure in public. He continued writing throughout his life. He died at his son's house in Venice in 1889. HOW THEY BROUGHT THE GOOD NEWS FROM GHENT TO AIX (Page 154)