At the beginning Dobell gave promise of development which, if fulfilled, would have led him very high indeed. In the short interval between _The Roman_ and _Balder_ the youthful author had grown surprisingly. _The Roman_, a fervid poem carrying on a Byronic tradition of interest in Italy, has all the faults of youth. It is too long, and it is bombastic. Its chief merit is width of sympathy; and it also contains here and there hints that promise in the future reach of thought. In _Balder_ we see this promise redeemed. It is far more forcible than _The Roman_ and it is loaded with thought. _Balder_ was a poem of vast design. It was to be in three parts, of which only one was ever published. The purpose was, in the words of the author's preface, to trace 'the progress of a human being from Doubt to Faith, from Chaos to Order. Not of Doubt incarnate to Faith incarnate, but of a doubtful mind to a faithful mind.' The design therefore bears a certain general resemblance to that of _Paracelsus_. _Balder_ is not equal to that great poem. It is even more difficult while less profound, and it is especially far less of a unity. It is, strictly speaking, paradoxical to regard as a whole what proclaims itself as a part; but a part of a great design may have completeness in itself, and this _Balder_ has not. Again, if we regard the poem in the light most favourable to it, as a collection of passages in verse, we have to admit the most amazing inequalities. Few passages in literature are more hideous than the description of the monster on which Tyranny rides; but, on the other hand, the best passages may challenge comparison with all but the greatest poetry. Even this comparison has been sometimes made. The description of Chamouni has been said to rival the great hymn of Coleridge, and that of the Coliseum the celebrated stanzas of Byron on the same subject. The comparison, especially with Coleridge, is unkind to Dobell. At his best he cannot rival one of the most poetic minds in all literature in one of its highest flights. Nevertheless, both passages are exceedingly good. The subjects moreover are characteristic. Magnitude and massiveness are congenial to Dobell, and almost necessary to draw out his best. 'Alone among our modern poets,' says Dr. Garnett, 'he finds the sublime a congenial element.' It is in such passages as those named, and in Balder's magnificent vision of war, that Dobell shows the grand material of poetry that was in him.