a
half-musing way, it is readily seen that his love for this beautiful
but soulless woman has caused many of his failures and sorrows in the
past, and will continue to arouse conflicts of soul in the future.

_Abt Vogler_, one of Browning's noblest and most melodious poems,
voices the exquisite raptures of a musician's soul:--

"But God has a few of us whom He whispers in the ear;
The rest may reason and welcome: 'tis we musicians know."

The beautiful song of David in the poem entitled _Saul_ shows a
wonderful sympathy with the old Hebrew prophecies. _Cleon_ expresses
the views of an early Greek upon the teachings of Christ and St. Paul.
_The Soliloquy of a Spanish Cloister_ describes the development of a
coarse, jealous nature in monastic life. _The Last Ride Together_ is
one of Browning's many passionate poems on the ennobling power of
love. That remarkable, grotesque poem, _Caliban upon Setebos_,
transcends human fields altogether, and displays the brutelike
theology of a fiend.

In these monologues, Browning interprets characters of varying faiths,
nationalities, stations, and historic periods. He shows a wide range
of knowledge and sympathy. One type, however, which he rarely
presents, is the simple, commonplace man or woman. Browning excels in
the portrayal of unusual, intricate, and difficult characters that
have complicated problems to face, weaknesses to overcome, or lofty
ambitions to attain.

The Ring and the Book.--When Browning was asked what he would advise
a student of his poetry to read first, he replied: "_The Ring and the
Book_, of course." He worked on this masterly study of human souls for
many years in the decade in which his wife died. This poem (1868),
which has been facetiously called "a Roman murder story," was
suggested to him by a "square old yellow book," which he purchased for
a few cents at Florence in 1860. This manuscript, dated 1698, gives an
account of the trial of Guido Franceschini for the murder of his wife.
Out of this "mere ring metal," Browning fashioned his "Ring," a poem
twice the length of _Paradise Lost_.

The subject of the story is an innocent girl, Pompilia, who, under the
protection of a noble priest, flees from her brutal husband and seeks
the home of her foster parents. Her husband wrathfully pursues her and
kills both her and her parents. While this is but the barest outline,
yet the story in its complete form is very simple. As is usual with
Browning, the