cription of Lazarus, whom he meets by chance, and of the state of mind
of one who, having seen the glories of immortality, must live again in the
midst of the jumble of trivial and stupendous things which constitute our
life, forms one of the most original and suggestive poems in our
literature. "My Last Duchess" is a short but very keen analysis of the soul
of a selfish man, who reveals his character unconsciously by his words of
praise concerning his dead wife's picture. In "The Bishop Orders his Tomb"
we have another extraordinarily interesting revelation of the mind of a
vain and worldly man, this time a churchman, whose words tell you far more
than he dreams about his own character. "Abt Vogler," undoubtedly one of
Browning's finest poems, is the study of a musician's soul. "Muleykeh"
gives us the soul of an Arab, vain and proud of his fast horse, which was
never beaten in a race. A rival steals the horse and rides away upon her
back; but, used as she is to her master's touch, she will not show her best
pace to the stranger. Muleykeh rides up furiously; but instead of striking
the thief from his saddle, he boasts about his peerless mare, saying that
if a certain spot on her neck were touched with the rein, she could never
be overtaken. Instantly the robber touches the spot, and the mare answers
with a burst of speed that makes pursuit hopeless. Muleykeh has lost his
mare; but he has kept his pride in the unbeaten one, and is satisfied.
"Rabbi Ben Ezra," which refuses analysis, and which must be read entire to
be appreciated, is perhaps the most quoted of all Browning's works, and
contains the best expression of his own faith in life, both here and
hereafter. All these wonderful poems are, again, merely a suggestion. They
indicate simply the works to which one reader turns when he feels mentally
vigorous enough to pick up Browning. Another list of soul studies, citing
"A Toccata of Galuppi's," "A Grammarian's Funeral," "Fra Lippo Lippi,"
"Saul," "Cleon," "A Death in the Desert," and "Soliloquy of the Spanish
Cloister," might, in another's judgment, be more interesting and
suggestive.

[Pippa Passes] Among Browning's longer poems there are two, at least, that
well deserve our study. _Pippa Passes_, aside from its rare poetical
qualities, is a study of unconscious influence. The idea of the poem was
suggested to Browning while listening to a gypsy girl singing in the woods
near his home; but he transfers the scene of th