Hernamewaswellknownandbecamewidelyfamiliarwhenher“CryoftheChildren“ranglikeaclarionthroughoutthecountry。
　　ThepoemwasfoundeduponanofficialreportbyRichardHengistHorne，thefriendwhomsomeyearspreviouslyshehadwonincorrespondence，andwithwhomshehadbecomesointimate，thoughwithoutpersonalacquaintance，thatshehadagreedtowriteadramaincollaborationwithhim，tobecalled“PsycheApocalypte“，andtobemodelledon“Greekinsteadofmoderntragedy。“
　　Horneapoetofgenius，andadramatistofremarkablepower
　　wasoneofthetruestfriendssheeverhad，and，sofarasherliterarylifeisconcerned，camenextininfluenceonlytoherpoet-husband。
　　Amongthefriendsshesawmuchofintheearlyfortieswasadistant“cousin“，JohnKenyonajovial，genial，gracious，andaltogetherdelightfulman，whoactedthepartofProvidencetomanytroubledsouls，and，inparticular，was“afairygodfather“toElizabethBarrettandto“theotherpoet“，asheusedtocallBrowning。ItwastoMr。Kenyon“Kenyon，withthefaceofaBenedictinemonk，butthemostjovialofgoodfellows，“
　　asafriendhasrecordedofhim；“KenyontheMagnificent“，ashewascalledbyBrowningthatMissBarrettowedherfirstintroductiontothepoetryofherfuturehusband。
　　Browning’spoetryhadforheranimmediateappeal。Withsureinsightshediscernedthespecialqualityofthepoeticwealthofthe“BellsandPomegranates“，amongwhichshethenandalwayscaredmostforthepenultimatevolume，the“DramaticRomancesandLyrics“。
　　Twoyearsbeforeshemettheauthorshehadwritten，in“LadyGeraldine’sCourtship“
　　“OrfromBrowningsome`Pomegranate’which，ifcutdeepdownthemiddle，Showsaheartwithinblood-tinctured，ofaveinedhumanity。“
　　Alittleearliershehadeven，unwittinglyoneitherside，beenacollaborateurwith“theauthorof`Paracelsus’。“
　　ShegaveHornemuchaidinthepreparationofhis“NewSpiritoftheAge“，andhehashimselftoldus“thatthemottoes，whicharesingularlyhappyandappropriate，wereforthemostpartsuppliedbyMissBarrettandRobertBrowning，thenunknowntoeachother。“
　　Onethingandanotherdrewthemnearerandnearer。Nowitwasapoem，nowanovelexpression，nowararesympathy。
　　Anintermittentcorrespondenceensued，andbothpoetsbecameanxioustoknoweachother。“Weartistshowwellpraiseagreeswithus，“
　　asBalzacsays。
　　Afewmonthslater，in1846，theycametoknowoneanotherpersonally。
　　Thestoryoftheirfirstmeeting，whichhasreceivedawideacceptance，isapocryphal。ThemeetingwasbroughtaboutbyKenyon。
　　ThiscommonfriendhadbeenaschoolfellowofBrowning’sfather，andsoitwasnaturalthathetookamorethanordinaryinterestinthebrilliantyoungpoet，perhapsallthemoresothatthereluctanttideofpopularitywhichhadpromisedtosetinwithsuchunparalleledsweepandweighthadsinceexperiencedasteadyebb。
　　Andsothefatesbroughtthesetwotogether。Theyoungerwasalreadyfarthestronger，buthehadanunboundedadmirationforMissBarrett。
　　Toher，hewaseventhenthechieflivingpoet。Sheperceivedhisultimategreatness；asearlyas1845had“afullfaithinhimaspoetandprophet。“
　　AsBrowningadmittedtoafriend，thelovebetweenthemwasalmostinstantaneous，athingoftheeyes，mind，andheart
　　eachstrivingforsupremacy，tillallweregratifiedequallyinacommonjoy。
　　Theyhadonebondofsterlingunion：passionforthearttowhichbothhaddevotedtheirlives。
　　Tothosewholoveloveforlove’ssake，who`sepassionnentpourlapassion，’
　　asProsperMerimeesays，therecouldscarcebeamoresacredspotinLondonthanthatfiftiethhouseinunattractiveWimpoleStreet，wherethesetwopoetsfirstmeteachother；andwhere，inthedarkenedroom，“Lovequivered，aninvisibleflame。“ElizabethBarrettwasindeed，inherownwords，“assweetasSpring，asOceandeep。“
　　She，too，wasalways，asshewroteofHarrietMartineau，inahopelessanguishofbodyandserenetriumphofspirit。
　　AsGeorgeSandsaysofoneofherfictitiouspersonages，shewasan“artisttothebackbone；thatis，onewhofeelslifewithfrightfulintensity。“Tothistookeenintensityoffeelingmustbeattributedsomethingofthatlongingforrepose，thatdeepcravingforrestfromwhatistooexcitingfromwithin，whichmadeheraffirmtheexquisiteappealtoherofsuchBiblicalpassagesas“TheLordofpeaceHimselfgiveyoupeace，“and“HegivethHisBelovedSleep，“
　　which，asshesaysinoneofhernumerousletterstoMissMitford，“strikeuponthedisquietedearthwithsuchaFOREIGNNESSofheavenlymusic。“
　　Norwashewhomshelovedasaman，aswellasreveredasapoet，unworthyofher。Hiswastherobustestpoeticintellectofthecentury；
　　histheserenestoutlook；his，almostthesoleunfalteringfootstepsalongtheperilouswaysofspeculativethought。Afairlife，irradiatewithfairerideals，conservedhisnativeintegrityfromthatincongruitybetweenpracticeandpreceptsocommonlyexemplified。
　　Comelyinallrespects，withhisblack-brownwavyhair，finely-cutfeatures，readyandwinsomesmile，alertluminouseyes，quick，spontaneous，expressivegesturesaninclinationofthehead，aliftoftheeyebrows，amodulationofthelips，anassertiveordeprecatorywaveofthehand，conveyingsomuchandavoiceatthattimeofasingularpenetratingsweetness，hewas，evenwithoutthatlightofthefutureuponhisforeheadwhichshewassoswifttodiscern，amantocaptivateanywomanofkindrednatureandsympathies。Overandabovetheseadvantages，hepossessedararequalityofphysicalmagnetism。Byvirtueofthishecouldeitherattractirresistiblyorstronglyrepel。
　　IhaveseveraltimesheardpeoplestatethatahandshakefromBrowningwaslikeanelectricshock。Trulyenough，itdidseemasthoughhissterlingnatureranginhisgeniallydominantvoice，and，again，asthoughhisvoicetransmittedinstantaneouswavesofanelectriccurrentthrougheverynerveofwhat，forwantofabetterphrase，Imustperforcecallhisintenselyalivehand。Irememberoncehowalady，afflictedwithnerves，inthedubiousenjoymentofherfirstexperienceofa“literaryafternoon“，rosehurriedlyand，inreplytoherhostess’inquiryastohermotive，explainedthatshecouldnotsitanylongerbesidetheelderlygentlemanwhowastalkingtoMrs。So-and-so，ashisnearpresencemadeherquiverallover，“likeamildattackofpins-and-needles，“asshephrasedit。Shewaschagrinedtolearnthatshehadbeendiscomposednotby`atooexuberantfinancier’，asshehadsurmised，butby，as“Waring“calledBrowning，the“subtlestassertoroftheSoulinsong。“
　　WiththesamequickinsightasshehadperceivedRobertBrowning’spoeticgreatness，ElizabethBarrettdiscernedhispersonalworth。
　　Hewasessentiallymanlyinallrespects：somanly，thatmanyfrailsoulsofeithersexphilanderedabouthisover-robustness。
　　Fromthetwilightgloomofanaestheticcliquecameasmallvoicebelittlingthegreatmanas“quitetoo`loud’，painfullyexcessive。“
　　Browningwasmanlyenoughtolaughatallghoulishcriesofanykindwhatsoever。Onceinawaythelionwouldlookroundandbyaraisedbreathmakethejackalswriggle；aswhenthepoetwrotetoacorrespondent，whohaddrawnhisattentiontocertainabusivepersonalitiesinsomereviewornewspaper：
　　“DearSirIamsureyoumeanverykindly，butIhavehadtoolonganexperienceoftheinabilityofthehumangoosetodootherthancacklewhenbenevolentandhisswhenmalicious，andnoamountofgoosecriticismshallmakemeliftaheelagainstwhatwaddlesbehindit。“
　　Herselfonewhosehappiestexperienceswereindreamland，MissBarrettwaskeenlysusceptibletothestronghumanityofBrowning’ssong，norlesskeenlyattractedbyhisstrenuousandfearlessoutlook，hispoeticpracticality，andevenbyhisbluntnessofinsightincertainmatters。Itwasnoslightthingtoherthatshecould，inMr。Lowell’swords，sayofherselfandofhim
　　“We，whobelievelife’sbasesrestBeyondtheprobeofchemictest。“
　　Sherejoiced，despiteherownloveforremoteimaginings，toknowthathewasofthosewhotoquoteagainfromthesamefinepoet
　　“……wastednottheirbreathinschemesOfwhatmanmightbeinsomebubble-sphere，AsifhemustbeotherthanheseemsBecausehewasnotwhatheshouldbehere，PostponingTime’sslowprooftopetulantdreams；“
　　that，inaword，while`hecouldbelievethepromiseofto-morrow，’hewasatthesametimesupremelyconsciousof`thewondrousmeaningofto-day。’
　　Both，fromtheiryouthonward，hadtravelled`ontrailsdivineofunimaginedlaws。’Itwassufficientforherthathekepthiseyesfixedonthegoalbeyondthewayhefollowed：itdidnotmatterthathewasblindtothedimadumbrationsofnovelbyways，ofstrangeCalvarysbythewayside，sooftenvisibletoher。
　　Theirfirstmeetingwasspeedilyfollowedbyasecondbyathird
　　andthen？Whenweknownot，buterelong，eachfoundthathappinesswasinthebestowaloftheother。
　　Thesecretwasforsometimekeptabsolutelyprivate。FromthefirstMr。Barretthadbeenjealousofhisbeloveddaughter’snewfriend。
　　Hedidnotcaremuchfortheman，hewithalltheprejudicesandbanefulconservatismoftheslave-owningplanter，theotherwithardentdemocraticsentimentsandadetestationofallformsofiniquity。
　　Nordidheunderstandthepoet。Hecouldreadhisdaughter’sflowingversewithpleasure，buttherewastohisearamerejumbleofsoundandsenseinmuchoftheworkoftheauthorof“TheTombatSt。Praxed’s“
　　and“SibrandusSchafnaburgensis“。Ofaselfishlygenialbutalsoofaviolentandoftensullennature，heresentedmoreandmoreanyfriendshipwhichthreatenedtoloosenthechainofaffectionandassociationbindinghisdaughtertohimself。