Child of heaven, that soothing calm On every pain and sorrow pourest, And a doubly healing balm Find'st for him whose need is sorest, Oh, I am of life aweary! What availeth its unrest-- Pain that findeth no release, Joy that at the best is dreary? Gentle peace, Come, oh come unto my breast! (Sir THEODORE MARTIN.) There is no picture here, no real personification. There is a crescendo movement through the first six lines, which culminates in the outburst: "Süsser Friede!"--though we could not feel quite certain that this outburst was coming. Now take Heine's personifications of fortune and misfortune, as contained in the following verses: "Das Glück ist eine leichte Dirne Und weilt nicht gern am selben Ort, Sie streicht das Haar dir von der Stirne Und küsst dich rasch und flattert fort. Frau Unglück hat im Gegentheile Dich liebefest an's Herz gedrückt, Sie sagt, sie habe keine Eile, Setzt sich zu dir an's Bett und strickt."[33] [33] Oh, Joy, she is a lichtsome hizzy, She winna bide wi' ye ava'; She strokes your broo an' maks ye dizzy Wi' ae fond kiss, then flits awa'. Dame Sorrow is a canty kimmer, A fond embrace ye'll hae frae her; She vows she's naewise thrang, the limmer, Knits by your bed an' winna stir. (W. A.) Seldom have two ideas been transformed into two living forms with so few strokes; and there is nothing much finer in all modern myth-creation than the last two lines, between which are to be read the record of profound and terrible experience. Heine, as we have seen, makes his earliest appearance in the Romantic school, and learns his trade from A. W. Schlegel, who imparts to him his own correct taste. In the earliest period of his development he is addicted to Romantic ghost stories and Romantic archaisms. Then, in the matter of metre, he begins to study and imitate Wilhelm Müller; in his most famous poem he borrows from Clemens Brentano. He soon forms his own style, the distinguishing feature of which is extreme condensation of thought, feeling, and imagery. Heine makes everything present and living, introduces even into tranquil themes a nervous, at times dæmonic, passion, not infrequently exaggerates until he becomes grotesque, occasionally exchanges the light of day for the glaring brightness of electric light--a kind of un-naturalness which is nevertheless to be found in nature. His most effective poetic quality is pregnant brevity. By reason of the blend of wit and imagination in his nature, he is inclined to produce his effects by contrasts, to seek for striking disharmonies and incongruities; he has a special fancy for the effect produced by letting a commonplace, vulgar reality imperceptibly make way for a poetic vision, or allowing such a vision to fade and evaporate and give place to all too familiar reality.