The Last Ride Together
Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale, ROI, RWS (1872-1945)
Illustration
1908
Signed EFB
Source: Browning, facing p. 138.
Here, the young mother plainly delights in dancing the new little life, so obviously thriving and affectionate, on her lap. Her own daisy coronet, and the chestnut flambeaux nearby, add to the scene of joyful fecundity. At first, there seems little connection between this captivating scene and the poem it is meant to illustrate. But perhaps there is a general relevance. Browning's speaker is a lover whose relationship has failed, but whose beloved grants him one "last ride" with her. Dejected as he is at first, he experiences on this ride that "instant made eternity" (towards the end of the last stanza) which is more precious than any of the apparently lasting gains for which one strives in life. The artist can be said to supply a moving example of such a moment from a woman's point of view. [Commentary continues below.]
Watercolour version with Predella
Image of the whole watercolour work, with (right) the predella enlarged, from a private collection. Kindly provided by Pamela Gerrish Nunn.
A framed watercolour version with a predella contextualises the mother and child in an unidentified story from the age of chivalry. Against the background of the kind of events hinted at here (the dead knight and a distraught-looking king gripping the bars of a small window), the joyful moment seems all the more special. See Gerrish Nunn's "Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale and Robert Browning," which includes comments on both versions.
Related Material
First image scan and text by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the Internet Archive and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. [Click on the images to enlarge them, and mouse over the text for the of the links.]
Bibliography
Browning, Robert. "Pippa Passes" & Men and Women. 1908. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott/London: Chatto and Windus, 1909. Internet Archive, from a copy in the library of the University of St Francis University. Web. 9 June 2026.
Created 9 June 2026