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Whatis，dramatically，disastrousintheinstanceofMertounsinging“There’sawomanlikeadew-drop“，whenheoughttobeseekingMildred’spresenceinprofoundstealthandsilence，is，dramatically，electricallystartlinginthemouthofSebald，amongthegeraniumsoftheshutteredshrub-house，wherehehaspassedthenightwithOttima，whilehermurderedhusbandliesstarkintheadjoiningroom。
Itmust，however，beborneinmindthatthisthrillingdramaticeffectisfullyexperiencedonlyinretrospection，orwhenthereisknowledgeofwhatistofollow。
Aconclusiveobjectiontothedramaasanactableplayisthatthreeofthefourmainepisodesarefragmentary。WeknownothingofthefateofLuigi：wecanbutsurmisethefutureofJulesandPhene：
weknownothoworwhenMonsignorwillseePipparighted。
OttimaandSebaldreachahigherlevelinvoluntarydeaththantheyevercouldhavedoneinlife。
Itisquiteunnecessary，here，todwelluponthisexquisiteflowerofgeniusindetail。EveryonewhoknowsBrowningatallknows“PippaPasses“。
Itslyricshavebeenunsurpassed，forbirdlikespontaneityandararehighmusic，byanyotherVictorianpoet：itspoeticinsightissuchasnootherpoetthantheauthorof“TheRingandtheBook“
and“TheInnAlbum“canequal。Itstechnique，moreover，issuperb。
FromtheoutsetofthetremendousepisodeofOttimaandSebald，thereisanoteoftragicpowerwhichisalmostoverwhelming。
WhohasnotknowwhatJakobBoehmecalls“theshudderofadivineexcitement“
whenLuca’smurdererrepliestohisparamour，“morning？
Itseemstomeanightwithasunadded。“
Howdeepanote，again，istouchedwhenSebaldexclaims，inallusiontohismurderofLuca，thathewasso“wroughtupon“，thoughhere，itmaybe，thereisanunconsciousreminiscenceofthetenserandmoreculminativecryofOthello，“butbeingwrought，perplextintheextreme。“StillmoreprofoundatouchisthatwhereOttima，daringherlovertothe“onethingthatmustbedone；youknowwhatthing：
Comeinandhelptocarry，“says，withaffectedlightsomeness，“Thisdustypanemightserveforlooking-glass，“andsimultaneouslyexclaims，asshethrowsthemrejectinglyfromhernervousfingers，“Three，four
fourgreyhairs!“thenwithanalmostsublimecoquetryofhorrorturnsabruptlytoSebald，sayingwithavoicestrivingvainlytobeblithe
“IsitsoyousaidAplaitofhairshouldwaveacrossmyneck？
Nothisway。“
Whohasnotbeenmovedbythetragicgrandeuroftheverse，aswellasbythedramaticintensityoftheepisodeofthelovers’“crowningnight“？
“Ottima。Thedayofittoo，Sebald!
Whenheaven’spillarsseemedo’erbowedwithheat，Itsblack-bluecanopysuffereddescendCloseonusboth，toweighdowneachtoeach，Andsmotherupalllifeexceptourlife。
Solaywetillthestormcame。
Sebald。Howitcame!
Ottima。Buriedinwoodswelay，yourecollect；
Swiftranthesearchingtempestoverhead；
AndeverandanonsomebrightwhiteshaftBurnedthro’thepine-treeroof，hereburnedandthere，AsifGod’smessengerthro’theclosewoodscreenPlungedandreplungedhisweaponataventure，Feelingforguiltytheeandme：thenbrokeThethunderlikeawholeseaoverhead“
Surelythereisnothinginallourliteraturemorepoignantlydramaticthanthisfirstpartof“PippaPasses“。ThestrainswhichPippasingshereandthroughoutareaspatheticallyfreshandfreeasathrush’ssongintheheartofabeleagueredcity，andaswiththesameunconsideredmagic。
Thereissomethingofthemavis-note，liquidfallingtones，caughtupinamomentinjoyouscaprice，in“Giveherbutaleastexcusetoloveme!
Whenwhere“
Nooneofthesesongs，allacutelyapttothetimeandtheoccasion，hasamoreoverwhelmingeffectthanthatwhichinterruptsOttimaandSebaldattheperiloussummitoftheirsin，beyondwhichliesutterdarkness，behindwhichisthenarrowtwilitbackwardway。
“Ottima。Binditthriceaboutmybrow；
Crownmeyourqueen，yourspirit’sarbitress，Magnificentinsin。Saythat!
Sebald。IcrownyouMygreatwhitequeen，myspirit’sarbitress，Magnificent……
[FromwithoutisheardthevoiceofPIPPAsinging]
Theyear’satthespring，Andday’satthemorn；
Morning’satseven；
Thehill-side’sdew-pearled；
Thelark’sonthewing；
Thesnail’sonthethorn：
God’sinhisheaven
All’srightwiththeworld!
[PIPPApasses。]
Sebald。God’sinhisheaven!Doyouhearthat？
Whospoke？“
ThissweetvoiceofPippareachestheguiltylovers，reachesLuigiinhistower，hesitatingbetweenloveandpatrioticduty，reachesJulesandPhenewhenallthehappinessoftheirunbornyearstremblesinthebalance，reachesthePrinceoftheChurchjustwhenhisconscienceissorebesetbyaseductivetemptation，reachesoneandallatacrucialmomentinthelifeofeach。
Theethicallessonofthewholepoemissummedupin“AllserviceranksthesamewithGod
WithGod，whosepuppets，bestandworst，Arewe：thereisnolastnorfirst，“
andin“God’sinhisheaven
All’srightwiththeworld!“
“WithGodthereisnolustofGodhood，“saysRossettiin“HandandSoul“：
`UndsoistderblaueHimmelgrosseralsjedesGewoelkdarin，unddauerhafterdazu，’meditatesJeanPaul：“Therecanbenothinggood，asweknowit，noranythingevil，asweknowit，intheeyeoftheOmnipresentandtheOmniscient，“utterstheOrientalmystic。
Itisinterestingtoknowthatmanyofthenaturetoucheswereindirectlyduetothepoet’ssolitaryrambles，bydawn，sundown，and“dewyeve“，inthewoodeddistrictssouthofDulwich，atHatcham，anduponWimbledonCommon，whitherhewasoftenwonttowanderandtorambleforhours，andwherehecomposedonedaythewell-knownlinesuponShelley，withmanyanotherunrecordedimpulseofsong。Here，too，itwas，thatCarlyle，ridingforexercise，wasstoppedby`abeautifulyouth’，whointroducedhimselfasoneofthephilosopher’sprofoundestadmirers。
ItwasfromtheDulwichwoodthat，oneafternooninMarch，hesawastormglorifiedbyadoublerainbowofextraordinarybeauty；
amemorablevision，recordedinanutteranceofLuigitohismother：
heretoothat，inautumnaldusks，hesawmanyacrescentmoonwith“notchedandburningrim。“Heneverforgotthebygone“sunsetsandgreatstars“hesawinthosedaysofhisfervidyouth。
Browningremarkedoncethattheromanceofhislifewasinhisownsoul；
andonanotheroccasionIheardhimsmilinglyadd，tosomeone’svagueassertionthatinItalyonlywasthereanyromanceleft，“Ah，well，IshouldliketoincludepooroldCamberwell!“
Perhapshewasthinkingofhislinesin“PippaPasses“，ofthedayswhenthatmasterpiececameebullientfromthefountofhisgenius
“May’swarmslowyellowmoonlitsummernights
Gonearethey，butIhavetheminmysoul!“
Thereisallthedistinctionbetween“PippaPasses“and“Sordello“
thatthereisbetweentheVenusofMilosandagiganticThebanSphinx。
Thelatteris，itistrue，proportionateinitsvastness；
butthesymmetryofmerebulkisnotthe`symmetriaprisca’
ofidealsculpture。Ihavealreadyalludedto“Sordello“
asaderelictupontheoceanofpoetry。This，indeed，itstillseemstome，notwithstandingthewell-meaningsuasionofcertainadmirersofthepoemwhohavehoped“Ishoulddoitjustice，“therebymeaningthatIshouldeulogiseitasamasterpiece。Itisagiganticeffort，ofakind；soisthesustainedthroeofawrestlingTitan。
