第12章

“Festus，strangesecretsareletoutbydeathWhoblabssooftthefolliesofthisworld：

AndIamdeath’sfamiliar，asyouknow。

Ihelpedamantodie，somefewweekssince，Warpedevenfromhisgo-carttooneend

Thelivingonprinces’smiles，reflectedfromAmightyherdoffavourites。NomeantrickHeleftuntried，andtrulywell-nighwormedAlltracesofGod’sfingeroutofhim：

Thendied，grownold。Andjustanhourbefore，Havinglainlongwithblankandsoullesseyes，Hesatupsuddenly，andwithnaturalvoiceSaidthatinspiteofthickairandcloseddoorsGodtoldhimitwasJune；andheknewwellWithoutsuchtelling，harebellsgrewinJune；

AndallthatkingscouldevergiveortakeWouldnotbepreciousasthosebloomstohim。“

Technically，IdoubtifBrowningeverproducedanyfinerlongpoem，except“PippaPasses“，whichisalyricaldrama，andneitherexactlya`play’

norexactlya`poem’intheconventionalusageoftheterms。

Artistically，“Paracelsus“isdisproportionate，andhasfaults，obtrusiveenoughtoanysensitiveear：butinthemainithasabeautywithoutharshness，aswiftnessofthoughtandspeechwithouttumultuouspressureofideasorstammering。Ithasnot，inlikedegree，theintensehumaninsightof，say，“TheInnAlbum“，butithasthatcharmofsequentexcellencetoorarelytobefoundinmanyofBrowning’slaterwritings。Itglidesonwardlikeasteadfaststream，thethoughtmovingwiththecurrentitanimatesandcontrols，andthrobbingeagerlybeneath。Whenwereadcertainportionsof“Paracelsus“，andthelovelylyricsinterspersedinit，itisdifficultnottothinkofthepoetassometimes，inlaterlife，stoopinglikethemarinerinRoscoe’sbeautifulsonnet，strivingtoreclaim“somelovedlostechofromthefleetingstrand。“

Butitisthefleetingshoreofexquisiteart，notofthefar-reachingshadowycapesandpromontoriesof“thepoeticland“。

Ofthefourinterlusivelyricsthefreermusicisintheuniquechant，“Overtheseaourgalleyswent“：asongfullofmelodyandblithelilt。

Itismarvellouslypictorial，andyethasafreedomthatplacesitamongthemostdelightfulofspontaneouslyrics：

“Weshouted，everymanofus，Andsteeredrightintotheharbourthus，Withpompandpaeanglorious。“

Itis，however，toolongforpresentquotation，andasanexampleofBrowning’searlylyricsIselectrathertherichanddelicatesecondofthese“Paracelsus“songs，onewhereintheinfluenceofKeatsissomarked，andyetwhereallisthepoet’sown：

“Heapcassia，sandal-budsandstripesOflabdanum，andaloe-balls，SmearedwithdullnardanIndianwipesFromoutherhair：suchbalsamfallsDownsea-sidemountainpedestals，Fromtree-topswheretiredwindsarefain，Spentwiththevastandhowlingmain，Totreasurehalftheirisland-gain。

“AndstrewfaintsweetnessfromsomeoldEgyptian’sfineworm-eatenshroudWhichbreakstodustwhenonceunrolled；

Orshreddedperfume，likeacloudFromclosetlongtoquietvowed，Withmothedanddroppingarrashung，Moulderingherluteandbooksamong，Aswhenaqueen，longdead，wasyoung。“

Withthismusicinourearswecanwellforgivesomeoftheprosaiccommonplaceswhichdeface“Paracelsus“someofthoselapsesfromrhythmicenergytowhichthepoetbecamelessandlesssensitive，tillhecouldbesodeaftothevanishing“echoofthefleetingstrand“

astosinktothelevelofdoggerelsuchasthatwhichclosesthepoemcalled“Popularity“。

“Paracelsus“isnotagreat，butitisamemorablepoem：

anotableachievement，indeed，foranauthorofBrowning’syears。

WellmayweexclaimwithFestus，whenweregardthepoetinallthegreatnessofhismaturity

“ThesunriseWellwarrantedourfaithinthisfullnoon!“

Chapter4。

The`Athenaeum’dismissed“Paracelsus“withahalfcontemptuouslineortwo。

Ontheotherhand，the`Examiner’acknowledgedittobeaworkofunequivocalpower，andpredictedforitsauthorabrilliantcareer。

Thesamecriticwhowrotethisreviewcontributedanarticleofabouttwentypagesupon“Paracelsus“tothe`NewMonthlyMagazine’，undertheheading，“EvidencesofaNewDramaticPoetry“。

Thisarticleisablywritten，andremarkableforitssympatheticinsight。

“Mr。Browning，“thecriticwrites，“isamanofgenius，hehasinhimselfalltheelementsofagreatpoet，philosophicalaswellasdramatic。“

TheauthorofthisenthusiasticandimportantcritiquewasJohnForster。

Whenthe`Examiner’reviewappearedthetwoyoungmenhadnotmet：

buttheencounter，whichwastobetheseedofsofineafloweroffriendship，occurredbeforethepublicationofthe`NewMonthly’article。Beforethis，however，Browninghadalreadymadeoneofthemostmomentousacquaintanceshipsofhislife。

Hisgoodfriendandearlycritic，Mr。Fox，askedhimtohishouseoneeveninginNovember，afewmonthsafterthepublicationof“Paracelsus“。

ThechiefguestoftheoccasionwasMacready，thenattheheightofhisgreatreputation。Mr。Foxhadpavedthewayfortheyoungpoet，butthemomentheenteredhecarriedwithhimhisbestrecommendation。

EveryonewhometBrowninginthoseearlyyearsofhisbuoyantmanhoodseemstohavebeenstruckbyhiscomelinessandsimplegraceofmanner。

Macreadystatedthathelookedmorelikeapoetthananymanhehadevermet。

Asayoungmanheappearstohavehadacertainivorydelicacyofcolouring，whatanoldfriendperhapssomewhatexaggeratedlydescribedtomeasanalmostflower-likebeauty，whichpassederelongintoalessgirlishandmorerobustcomplexion。Heappearedtallerthanhewas，forhewasnotabovemediumheight，partlybecauseofhisraregraceofmovement，andpartlyfromacharacteristichighpoiseoftheheadwhenlisteningintentlytomusicorconversation。Eventhenhehadthatexpressivewaveo’thehand，whichinlateryearswasasfullofvariousmeaningsasthe`Ecco’ofanItalian。Aswiftalertnesspervadedhim，noticeableasmuchintherapidchangeofexpression，inthedeepeningandillumingcoloursofhissingularlyexpressiveeyes，andinhissensitivemouth，withtheupperlipeversoswifttocurveordroopinresponsetothemostfluctuantemotion，asinhisgreyhound-likeapprehension，whichsooftengraspedthesubjectinitsentiretybeforeitspropounderhimselfrealiseditssignificance。

Alady，whoremembersBrowningatthattime，hastoldmethathishair

thenofabrownsodarkastoappearblackwassobeautifulinitsheavysculpturesquewavesastoattractfrequentnotice。

Another，andmoresubtle，personalcharmwashisvoice，thenwitharareflute-liketone，clear，sweet，andresonant。

Afterwards，thoughalwayswithpreciseclarity，itbecamemerelystrongandhearty，alittletooloudsometimes，andnotinfrequentlyasthatofonesimulatingkeenimmediateinterestwhiletheattentionwasalmostwhollydetached。

Macready，inhisJournal，*aboutaweeklaterthanthedateofhisfirstmeetingwiththepoet，wrote“Read`Paracelsus’，aworkofgreatdaring，starredwithpoetryofthought，feeling，anddiction，butoccasionallyobscure：thewritercanscarcelyfailtobealeadingspiritofhistime。“Thetragedian’shouse，whitherhewentatweek-endsandonholidays，wasatElstree，ashortdistancetothenorthwardofHampstead：andthereheinvitedBrowning，amongotherfriends，tocomeonthelastdayofDecemberandspendNewYear’sDay(1836)。**Whenalluding，inafteryears，tothisvisit，Browningalwaysspokeofitasoneofthered-letterdaysofhislife。ItwasherehefirstmetForster，withwhomheatonceformedwhatprovedtobeanenduringfriendship；andonthisoccasion，also，thathewasurgedbyhishosttowriteapoeticplay。

*FormanyinterestingparticularsconcerningMacreadyandBrowning，andtheproductionof“Strafford“，etc。，seethe`Reminiscences’，vol。1。

**ItwasforMacready’seldestboy，WilliamCharles，thatBrowningwroteoneofthemostwidelypopularofhispoems，“ThePiedPiperofHamelin“。

Itissaidtohavebeenanimpromptuperformance，andtohavebeensolittlevaluedbytheauthorthathehesitatedaboutitsinclusionin“BellsandPomegranates“。Itwasinsertedatthelastmoment，inthethirdnumber，whichwasshortof“copy“。Someone(anonymous，butwhomItaketobeMr。Nettleship)haspubliclyalludedtohispossessionofarivalpoem(entitled，simply，“Hamelin“)

byRobertBrowningtheelder，andofaletterwhichhehadsenttoafriendalongwiththeverses，inwhichhewrites：“BeforeIknewthatRoberthadbegunthestoryofthe`Rats’Ihadcontemplatedataleonthesamesubject，andproceededwithitasfarasyousee，but，onhearingthatRoberthadasimilaroneonhand，Idesisted。“

Thismusthavebeenin1842，foritwasinthatyearthatthethirdpartof`BellsandPomegranates’waspublished。

In1843，however，hefinishedit。Browning’s“PiedPiper“

hasbeentranslatedintoFrench，Russian，Italian，andGerman。

Thelatter(oroneGerman)versionisinprose。Itwasmadein1880，foraspecialpurpose，andoccupiedthewholeofonenumberofthelocalpaperofHameln，whichisaquainttownletinHanover。