Suffer me at your leafy feast To sit apart, a somewhat alien guest, And watch your mirth, Unsharing in the liberal laugh of earth. _The Hound of Heaven_, I think, has rightly been pronounced his greatest poem, for whilst in its wealth of melody, its magnificence of imagery, and its pathos, it is unsurpassed, it reveals also the finest depths of his thought as he takes us "down the labyrinthine ways" of his mind's flight. But next to that I would put _The Making of Viola_, a poem which no other, except Rossetti or his sister Christina, could have written: I _The Father of Heaven._ Spin, daughter Mary, spin, Twirl your wheel with silver din; Spin, daughter Mary, spin, Spin a tress for Viola. _Angels._ Spin, Queen Mary, a Brown tress for Viola! II _The Father of Heaven._ Weave, hands angelical, Weave a woof of flesh to pall Weave, hands evangelical-- Flesh to pall our Viola. _Angels._ Weave, singing brothers, a Velvet flesh for Viola! III _The Father of Heaven._ Scoop, young Jesus, for her eyes, Wood-browned pools of Paradise-- Young Jesus, for the eyes, For the eyes of Viola. _Angels._ Tint, Prince Jesus, a Dusked eye for Viola! It may be that he will always be a poet for the few; that his mystical, esoteric spirit, finding its proper expression in baffling imagery and elusive, other-worldly rhythms, will never be wholly congenial to the many. But his place is assured; for he had no traffic with the things of a day or the language of a day. The beauty which haunts his prose and his verse is of that universal order which can hardly fade by the mere passing of time. Only a change in the human spirit can make it dim. NOTE Many of the foregoing chapters are based upon articles which have been published in periodicals. My thanks are due to the Editors of the following journals, which I name in the order of my indebtedness:--_The English Review_, _The Nation_, _The Daily News_, _The North American Review_, _The British Review_, and _The Athenæum_. THE COMPLETE DRAMATIC WORKS OF =Gerhart Hauptmann= AUTHORIZED EDITION IN SIX VOLUMES It is generally conceded that Gerhart Hauptmann is the most notable dramatist of the present day. His work combines literary, psychological and dramatic interest in greater measure than that of any other contemporary writer, and the award of the Nobel prize in literature was a public recognition of his genius.