It is a rare, if not an unheard of happening that
for any crime, the verdict is unanimous as to deserts
or extenuation, so Browning giving the story over
and over ten times and allowing Guido the ultimate
word as he watches out his last hours with his con-
fessors seems to have sifted all facts, given considera-
tion to all points of view, as each speaker sees the
matter in a different light from all the others.
Half-Rome

The first half of Rome is spokesman for wronged
husbands and his ideas of the matter are given as
speaker and listeners stand by the church of San-
Lorenzo to which the crowd surges, in and out, curious
to see the two victims of Count Guido, Pietro and
Violante, supposed parents of Pompilia. There the
mangled bodies lie as in a morgue awaiting identifica-
tion. All about them the gossip goes on. The story
is told over and over, no doubt with many variations.
The conclusion arrived at by one-half Rome was
that Guido made a mistake by waiting on the law to set
him right. He waited too long and at last made the
blunder of being caught through the simple negligence
of not securing the order for horses to carry him
swiftly into Tuscany and safety. Then too, he trusted



154 BROWNING CRITIQUES

to one of his helpers to assure him that Pompilia was
surely dead. The speaker finishes his story:

"Sir, what's the good of law
In a case o' the kind?
None, as she all but says.
