Nodoubt，inlyingonthesand-dunesinthegoldenSeptemberglow，inlookinguponthetheresomewhatturbidcurrentoftheLoire，thepoetbroodedonthosedayswhenhesawitsinlandwaterswithherwhowaswithhimnolongersaveindreamsandmemories。
　　Herehewrotethatstirringpoem，“HerveRiel“，foundeduponthevalorousactionofaFrenchsailorwhofrustratedthenavalmightofEngland，andclaimednothingasarewardsavepermissiontohaveaholidayonlandtospendafewhourswithhiswife，“labelleAurore“。“HerveRiel“whichhasbeentranslatedintoFrench，andisoftenrecited，particularlyinthemaritimetowns，andisalwaysevocativeofenthusiasticapplauseisoneofBrowning’sfinestaction-lyrics，andisassuredofthesameimmortalityas“HowtheybroughttheGoodNewsfromGhenttoAix“，orthe“PiedPiper“himself。
　　In1872therewaspracticalproofofthepoet’sgrowingpopularity。
　　BaronTauchnitzissuedtwovolumesofexcellentlyselectedpoems，comprisingsomeofthebestof“MenandWomen“，“DramatisPersonae“，and“DramaticRomances“，besidesthelonger“Soul’sTragedy“，“Luria“，“InaBalcony“，and“ChristmasEveandEasterDay“
　　themostChristianpoemofthecentury，accordingtooneeminentcleric，theheterodoxself-sophisticationofafree-thinker，accordingtoanother：
　　really，thereflexofagreatcrisis，thatofthefirstmovementofthetideofreligiousthoughttoapracticallylimitlessfreedom。
　　Thiseditionalsocontained“BishopBlougram“，thenmuchdiscussed，apartfromitspoeticandintellectualworth，onaccountofitssupposedverisimilitudeinportraitureofCardinalWiseman。
　　Thiscomposition，oneofBrowning’smostcharacteristic，issocleverthatitisscarcelyapoem。PoetryandClevernessdonotwellagree，themusebeingalreadyunitedinperfectmarriagetoImagination。
　　InhisEssayonTruth，BaconsaysthatoneoftheFatherscalledpoetry`VinumDaemonum’，becauseitfilleththeimagination。
　　Certainlyifitbenot`vinumdaemonum’itisnotPoetry。
　　Inthisyearalsoappearedthefirstseriesof“Selections“
　　bythepoet’slatestpublishers：“DedicatedtoAlfredTennyson。
　　InPoetryillustriousandconsummate：InFriendshipnobleandsincere。“
　　Itwasinhisprefacetothisselectionthathewrotetheoften-quotedwords：
　　“NordoIapprehendanymorechargesofbeingwilfullyobscure，unconscientiouslycareless，orperverselyharsh。“Atoraboutthedateofthese“Selections“thepoetwrotetoafriend，onthisverypointofobscurity，“IcanhavelittledoubtthatmywritinghasbeeninthemaintoohardformanyIshouldhavebeenpleasedtocommunicatewith；butIneverdesignedlytriedtopuzzlepeople，assomeofmycriticshavesupposed。Ontheotherhand，Ineverpretendedtooffersuchliteratureasshouldbeasubstituteforacigaroragameatdominoestoanidleman。
　　Soperhaps，onthewhole，Igetmydeserts，andsomethingover
　　notacrowd，butafewIvaluemore。“
　　In1877Browning，everrestlessforpasturesnew，wentwithhissistertospendtheautumnatLaSaisiazSavoyardfor“thesun“，avillaamongthemountainsnearGeneva；thistimewiththeadditionalcompanyofMissAnneEgertonSmith，anintimateandvaluedfriend。
　　Buttherewasanunhappyclosetotheholiday。MissSmithdiedonthenightofthefourteenthofSeptember，fromheartcomplaint。
　　“LaSaisiaz“isthedirectoutcomeofthisincident，andisoneofthemostbeautifulofBrowning’slaterpoems。
　　Itstrochaicsmovewithatide-likesound。
　　Attheclose，thereisalinewhichmightstandasepitaphforthepoet
　　“He，atleast，believedinSoul，wasverysureofGod。“
　　Inthefollowingyear“LaSaisiaz“waspublishedalongwith“TheTwoPoetsofCroisic“，whichwasbegunandpartlywrittenatthelittleFrenchvillagetenyearspreviously。
　　Thereisnothingoftheeight-scorestanzasofthe“TwoPoets“
　　toequalitsdelightfulepilogue，ortheexquisiteprefatorylyric，beginning“SuchastarvedbankofmossTillthatMay-mornBluerantheflashacross：
　　Violetswereborn。“
　　ExtremelyinterestingandformyselfIcannotfind“TheTwoPoetsofCroisic“tobeanythingmorethan“interesting“
　　itisasapoemdistinctlyinferiorto“LaSaisiaz“。
　　Althoughdetachedlinesareoftenfarfromtrulyindicativeoftherealpoeticstatusofalongpoem，whereproportionandharmonyareofmoreimportancethancasualexfoliationsofbeauty，yettoacertainextenttheydoserveasmusicalkeysthatgivethefundamentaltone。OnecertainlywouldhavetosearchinvaintofindintheCroisicpoemsuchlinesas“Fiveshortdays，scarceenoughtoBronzetheclusteredwildingapple，reddenripethemountainash。“
　　OrtheseofMontBlanc，seenatsunset，toweringovericypinnaclesandteeth-likepeaks，“Blanc，supremeabovehisearth-brood，needlesredandwhiteandgreen，Hornsofsilver，fangsofcrystalsetonedgeinhisdemesne。“
　　Or，again，thisofthesunswinginghimselfabovethedarkshoulderofJura
　　“Gayhehailsher，andmagnific，thrilledherblacklengthburnstogold。“
　　Or，finally，thissoundingverse
　　“Pastthecity’scongregatedpeaceofhomesandpompofspires。“
　　Theotherpoemslaterthan“TheRingandtheBook“are，broadlyspeaking，oftwokinds。Ontheonesidemayberangedthegroupswhichreallycoherewith“MenandWomen“。Theseare“TheInnAlbum“，themiscellaneouspoemsofthe“Pacchiarotto“volume，the“DramaticIdyls“，someof“Jocoseria“，andsomeof“Asolando“。“Ferishtah’sFancies“and“Parleyings“arenot，collectively，dramaticpoems，butpoemsofilluminativeinsightguidedbyadramaticimagination。*They，andtheclassicalpoemsandtranslationsrenderings，rather，byonewhoseownindividualitydominatesthemtotheexclusionofthatNEARNESSoftheoriginalauthor，whichitshouldbetheprimaryaimofthetranslatortoevoke，thebeautiful“Balaustion’sAdventure“，“Aristophanes’Apology“，and“TheAgamemnonofAeschylus“，andthethirdgroup，whichcomprises“PrinceHohenstiel-Schwangau“，“RedCottonNightcapCountry“，and“FifineattheFair“thesethreegroupsareofthesecondkind。
　　*Inalettertoafriend，Browningwrote：“IhopeandbelievethatoneortwocarefulreadingsofthePoem[Ferishtah’sFancies]
　　willmakeitssenseclearenough。Aboveall，prayallowforthePoet’sinventivenessinanycase，anddonotsupposethereismorethanathindisguiseofafewPersiannamesandallusions。
　　TherewasnosuchpersonasFerishtahthestoriesareallinventions……TheHebrewquotationsareputinforapurpose，asadirectacknowledgmentthatcertaindoctrinesmaybefoundintheOldBook，whichtheConcoctersofNovelSchemesofMoralityputforthasdiscoveriesoftheirown。“
　　Remarkableasarethethreelast-namedproductions，itisextremelydoubtfulifthefirstandsecondwillbereadforpleasurebyreadersbornafterthecloseofthiscentury。Asitisimpossible，inmynarrowlimits，togointoanydetailaboutpoemswhichpersonallyIdonotregardasessentialtothetruestunderstandingofBrowning，thetruestbecauseonthehighestlevel，thatofpoetryasdistinctfromdogma，orintellectualsuasionofanykindthatmight，forallitsaestheticcharm，beinproseitwouldbepresumptuoustoassertanythingderogatoryofthemwithoutattemptingadequatesubstantiation。Ican，therefore，merelystatemyownopinion。Toreiterate，itisthat，fordifferentreasons，thesethreelongpoemsareforedoomedtooblivionnot，ofcourse，tobelosttothestudentofourliteratureandofourage，amorewonderfuloneeventhanthatoftheRenaissance，buttolapsefromthegeneralregard。Thateachwillforalongtimefindappreciativereadersiscertain。Theyhaveafascinationforalertminds，andtheyhavenotinfrequentramificationswhichareworthpursuingfortheglimpsesaffordedintoanalwaysevanishingPromisedLand。
　　“PrinceHohenstiel-Schwangau“thename，bytheway，isnotpurelyfanciful，beingformedfromHohenSchwangau，oneofthecastlesofthelateKingofBavariaisBrowning’scomplementtohiswife’s“OdetoNapoleonIII。““RedCottonNightcapCountry“
　　isatruestory，thenarrativeofthecircumstancespertinenttothetragicdeathofoneAntonioMellerio，aParisjeweller，whichoccurredin1870atSt。AubininNormandy，where，indeed，thepoetfirstheardofitinallitsdetails。Itisastorywhich，ifthemethodofpoetryandthemethodofprosecouldforamomentbeacceptedasequivalent，mightbesaidtobeoftheschoolofalightandhumorouslygrotesqueZola。Ithasthefundamentalweaknessof“TheRingandtheBook“theweaknessofaninadequateethicalbasis。
　　Itis，indeed，tothatgreatworkwhatasecond-ratenoveletteistoamasterpieceoffiction。
　　“FifineattheFair“，ontheotherhand，issopowerfulandoftensobeautifulapoemthatonewouldberashindeedwerehe，withtheblithecriticalassurancewhichissogenerallysnuffedoutlikeauselesscandlebyalatergeneration，toprognosticateitsinevitableseclusionfromthehighplaceitatpresentoccupiesintheestimateofthepoet’smostuncompromisingadmirers。
　　Butsurelyequallyrashistheassertionthatitwillbethe“poemofthefuture“。However，ourconcernisnotwithproblematicalestimates，butwiththepoemasitappearstoUS。
　　ItisoneofthemostcharacteristicofBrowning’sproductions。