Henry Heine was born in 1797 at Düsseldorf on the Rhine; and studied at the Universities of Bonn, Berlin, and Göttingen. He afterwards resided in Hamburg, Berlin and Munich; and since 1830 has lived in Paris. His principal writings are _Buch der Lieder_, a collection of lyrical poems; two tragedies, _Almansor_ and _Radcliff_; the four volumes of _Reisebilder_; the _Beiträge zur Geschichte der neuern schönen Literatur in Deutschland_; the _Frangësische Zustände_; and _Der Salon_,—the last two being collections of his various contributions to the German newspapers. The most popular of his writings is the _Reisebilder_, (Pictures of Travel.) The _Beiträge_ has been translated into English, by Geo. W. Haven, under the title of _Letters auxiliary to the History of modern Polite Literature in Germany, Boston, 1836_. The same work, with many additions, has been published in Paris, under the title of _De l’Allemagne_. The style of Heine is remarkable for vigor, wit and brilliancy; but is wanting in taste and refinement. To the recklessness of Byron he adds the sentimentality of Sterne. The _Reisebilder_ is a kind of _Don Juan_ in prose, with passages from the _Sentimental Journey_. He is always in extremes, either of praise or censure; setting at nought the decencies of life, and treating the most sacred things with frivolity. Throughout his writings you see traces of a morbid, ill-regulated mind; of deep feeling, disappointment and suffering. His sympathies seem to have died within him, like Ugolino’s children in the tower of Famine. With all his various powers, he wants the one great power—the power of truth! He wants, too, that ennobling principle of all human endeavors, the aspiration “after an ideal standard, that is higher than himself.” In a word, he wants sincerity and spirituality. In the highest degree reprehensible, too, is the fierce, implacable hatred with which Heine pursues his foes. No man should write of another as he permits himself to do at times. In speaking of Schlegel, as he does in his _German Literature_, he is utterly without apology. And yet to such remorseless invectives, to such witty sarcasms, he is indebted in a great degree for his popularity. It was not till after he had bitten the heel of Hercules, that the Crab was placed among the constellations. The following passages from the _Reisebilder_, will give the reader a general idea of Heine’s style; exhibiting at once his beauties and defects—his poetic feeling—his spirit—his wit—his want of taste. The first is from his description of a _Tour to the Harz Mountains_; the second from his _Journey from Munich to Genoa_. SCENE ON THE BROCKEN.