*”Thiswasaverycompactorgan，inwhichfourkey-boardsoffiveoctaveseach，andapedalboardofthirty-sixkeys，withswellcomplete，werepackedintoacubeofninefeet。
SeeFetis’s`BiographieUniverselledesMusiciens’——G。Grove。”
`NotetoMissMarx’sArt。onVogler’——
Mrs。Turnbull，inherpaperon`AbtVogler’`BrowningSoc。Papers’，Pt。IV。，pp。469-476，hassowelltracedtheargumentofthemonologue，thatIcannotdobetterthanquotetheportionofherpaperinwhichshepresentsit：——”AbtVoglerhasbeenextemporizingonhisinstrument，pouringoutthroughitallhisfeelingsofyearningandaspiration；
andnow，wakingfromhisstateofabsorption，excited，andtremblingwithexcessofemotion，hebreaksoutintothewish，`Woulditmighttarry！’Inverses[stanzas]oneandtwohecomparesthemusichehasmadetoapalace，whichSolomonaslegendsoftheKoranrelatesummonedallcreatures，bythemagicnameonhisring，toraisefortheprincessheloved；
soallthekeys，joyfullysubmittingtothemagicpowerofthemaster，combinetoaidhim，thelownotesrushinginlikedemonstogivehimthebaseonwhichtobuildhisairystructure；thehighnoteslikeangelsthrowingdecorationofcarvingandtraceryonpinnacleandflyingbuttress，tillinversethreeitsoutline，risingeverhigherandhigher，showsinthecloudslikeSt。Peter’sdome，illuminatedandtoweringintothevastysky；anditseemsasifhissoul，upborneonthesurgingwavesofmusic，hadreacheditshighestelevation。Butno。Influencesfromwithout，inexplicable，unexpected，jointoenhancehisownattempts；
theheavensthemselvesseemtobowdownandtoflashforthinconceivablesplendorsonhisamazedspirit，tillthelimitationsoftimeandspacearegone——`thereisnomorenearnorfar’。”……Inthisstrangefusionofnearandfar，ofheavenandearth，presenceshover，spiritsofthoselongdeadorofthoseyettobe，luredbythepowerofmusictoreturntolife，ortobeginit。
Figuresaredimlydescriedinthefervorandpassionofmusic，evenasofoldintheglareandglowofthefieryfurnace。”Versesfourandfiveareaboldattempttodescribetheindescribable，toshadowforththatstrangestateofclairvoyancewhenthesoulshakesitselffreefromallexternalimpressions，whichVogeltellsuswasthecasewithSchubert，andwhichistrueofallgreatcomposers——
`whetherinthebodyoroutofthebody，Icannotsay’。”Inthesixthversewecometoacomparisonofmusicwiththeotherarts。Poetry，painting，andsculpturedealwithactualform，andthetangiblerealitiesoflife。Theyaresubjecttolaws，andweknowhowtheyareproduced；canwatchthepaintinggrowbeneaththeartist’stouches，orthepoemtakeshapelinebyline。”Trueitneedsthesouloftheartisttocombineandtointerfusetheelementswithwhichhewishestocreateanytrueworkofart，butmusicisalmostentirelyindependentofearthlyelementinwhichtoclotheandembodyitself。Itdoesnotallowofarealisticconception，butwithoutintermediatemeansisinadirectlinefromGod，andenablesustocomprehendthatPowerwhichcreatedallthingsoutofnothing，withwhomTOWILLandTODOareoneandthesame。”Schopenhauersays，`ThereisnosoundinNaturefittoservethemusicianasamodel，ortosupplyhimwithmorethananoccasionalsuggestionforhissublimepurpose。Heapproachestheoriginalsourcesofexistencemorecloselythanallotherartists，nay，eventhanNatureherself。’”Heinehasalsonoticedthiselementofmiracle，whichcoincidesexactlywithBrowning’sviewexpressedinthelines：——”`HereisthefingerofGod，aflashofthewillthatcan，Existentbehindalllaws，thatmadethem，and，lo，theyare！’
Now，thesesevenversescontainthemusicofthepoem；
intheremainingoneswepasstoBrowning’sPlatonicphilosophy。”Intheeighthverseasadthoughtofthebanishedmusicobtrudes——
`nevertobeagain’。Sowraptwasheintheemotionsevoked，hehadnotimetothinkofwhattonescalledthemup，andnowallispastandgone。Hismagicpalace，unlikethatofSolomon，has`meltedintoair，intothinair’，and，`likethebaselessfabricofavision’，onlythememoryofitisleft……And，depressedbythissaddestofhumanexperiences，……heturnsawayimpatientfromthepromiseofmoreandbetter，todemandfromGodthesame——
theverysame。Browningwithmagnificentassuranceanswers，`yes，youshallhavethesame’。”`Fool！allthatisatall，Lastsever，pastrecall。’”`Ay，whatwas，shallbe。’”……theineffableNamewhichbuiltthepalaceofKingSolomon，whichbuildshousesnotmadewithhands——housesoffleshwhichsoulsinhabit，cravingforaheartandalovetofillthem，canandwillsatisfytheirlongings；……IknownootherwordsintheEnglishlanguagewhichcompressesintosmallcompasssuchabodyofhighandinclusivethoughtasversenine。
1Godthesolechangeless，towhomweturnwithpassionatedesireastheoneabiding-place，aswefindhowallthingssufferlossandchange，ourselves，alas！thegreatest。2HispowerandloveableandwillingtosatisfytheheartsofHiscreatures——
thethoughtexpatiatedonbySt。AugustineandGeorgeHerbertherecrystallizedinoneline：——`DoubtthatThypowercanfilltheheartthatThypowerexpands?’3Thenthemagnificentdeclaration，`Thereshallneverbeonelostgood’——theeternalnatureofgoodness，whileitsoppositeevil……isanon-essentialwhichshallonedaypassawayentirely，andbeswallowedupofgood……”Nowfollowsanannouncement，asbytongueofprophetorseer，thatweshallatlastfindallouridealscompleteinthemindofGod，notputforthtimorously，butwithtriumphantknowledge——
knowledgegainedbymusicwhosecreativepowerhasforthemomentrevealedtousthepermanentexistenceoftheseideals。”Thesorrowandpainandfailurewhichweareallcalledupontosufferhere，……areseentobeproofsandevidencesofthisgreatbelief。Withoutthediscordshowshouldwelearntoprizetheharmony?”Carriedonthewingsofmusicandhighthought，wehaveascendedoneofthoseDelectablemountains——Pisgah-peaksfromwhich”`OursoulshavesightofthatimmortalseaWhichbroughtushither’；
andwhencewecandescry，howeverfaintly，thelandthatisveryfarofftowhichwetravel，andwewouldfainlinger，nay，abide，onthemount，buildingthereourtabernacles。”Butitcannotbe。Thatfineairisdifficulttobreathelong，andlife，withitsroundsofcustomandduty，recallsus。
Sowedescendwiththemusician，throughvaryingharmoniesandslidingmodulations……deadeningthepoignancyoftheminorthirdinthemoresatisfyingreassuringchordofthedominantninth，whichagainfindsitsrestonthekey-note——Cmajor——
thecommonchord，sosoberanduninterestingthatitwellsymbolizesthecommonleveloflife，theprosaickey-notetowhichunfortunatelymostofourlivesareset。”Wereturn，however，strengthenedandrefreshed，bracedtoendurethewrongswhichweknowshallbeonedayrighted，toacquiesceinthelimitedandimperfectconditionsofearth，whichweknowshallbemergedatlastinheaven’sperfectround，andtoacceptwithpatiencetherenunciationdemandedofushere，knowing”`Allwehavewilled，orhoped，ordreamedofgoodshallexist。’”
Inhis`IntroductoryAddresstotheBrowningSociety’，theRev。J。Kirkman，ofQueen’sCollege，Cambridge，saysof`AbtVolger’：——”Thespiritualtranscendentalismofmusic，theinscrutablerelationbetweentheseenandtheeternal，ofwhichmusicaloneunlocksthegatebyinarticulateexpression，hasneverhadanarticulateutterancefromapoetbefore`AbtVogler’。Thisisofahigherorderofcomposition，quitenobler，thanthemerelyfretfulrebellionagainsttheearthlyconditionimposedherebelowuponheavenlythings，seenin`MasterHughes’[ofSaxe-Gotha]。Inthatandotherplaces，IamnotsurethatpersonsofmusicalATTAINMENT，asdistinguishedfrommusicalSOULANDSYMPATHY，donotratherfindaprofessionalgratificationatthetechnicalities……thangetconductedto`thelawwithinthelaw’。Butin`AbtVogler’，theunderstandingisspell-bound，andcarriedonthewingsoftheemotions，asGanymedeinthesoftdownoftheeagle，intotheworldofspirit……”ThebeautifulutterancesofRichteraloneapproachtothevalueofBrowning’sonmusic。Welldoeshedeserveremembrancefortheremark，that`Musicistheonlylanguageincapableofexpressinganythingimpure’，andformanyothers。Theyall[thepoetsquotedinthepassageomittedabove]，comparatively，speakFROMOUTSIDE；
BrowningspeaksFROMINSIDE，asifanangelcametogiveallthehintswecouldreceive，”`Ofthatimperialpalacewhenwecame。’
HespeaksofmusicasDantedoesofHeaven，Hell，andPurgatory，becausehehasbeenthere。EventhemusicalMilton，whosebestlineis，`Inlinkedsweetnesslongdrawnout’，whosebestspecialtreatmentofmusicisintheoccasionalpoem，`Atasolemnmusic’，hasgivenusnothingofthenatureof`AbtVogler’。Itshouldbeperfectlylearntbyheart；
anditwillbeeverwhisperinganalogiestothesoulindailylife。
Because，ofcourse，themysteryoflifeandthemysteryofmusicmakeoneofthemostfundamentaltranscendentalharmoniesbreathedintoourbeing。”
`Touchhimne’ersolightly’，etc。
Inthefirststanzasomeonedescribesadmiringlyawriterofmushroompoems。Inthesecondstanzaanothergivesthegenesisofapoemwhichbecomesanation’sheritage。
Memorabilia。
ThespeakerisonetowhomShelleyisanalmostidealbeing。
Hecanhardlythinkofhimasamanoffleshandblood。
Hemeetssomeonewhohasactuallyseenhimandtalkedwithhim；
andit’sallsostrangetohim，andheexpressessomuchsurpriseatit，thatitmovesthelaughteroftheother，andhebreaksoffandspeaksofcrossingamoor。Onlyahand’sbreadthofitshinesalone’midtheblankmilesroundabout；fortherehepickedup，andputinsidehisbreast，amoultedfeather，aneagle-feather。
Heforgetstherest。Thereis，infact，nothingmoreforhimtoremember。Theeagle-feathercausesanisolatedflashofassociationwiththepoetoftheatmosphere，thewinds，andtheclouds，”Themeteoricpoetofairandsea。”
HowitstrikesaContemporary。
Thespeaker，aSpaniard，itmustbesupposed，describestohiscompaniontheonlypoetheknewinhislife，whoroamedalongthepromenadesandthroughtheby-streetsandlanesandalleysofValladolid，anolddog，baldandblindish，athisheels。Heappearedinterestedinwhateverhelookedon，andhislookswenteverywhere，takinginthecobblerathistrade，themanslicinglemonsintodrink，thecoffee-roaster’sbrazier，andtheboysturningitswinch；
booksonstalls，strung-upfly-leafballads，postersbythewall；”`Ifanybeatahorse，youfelthesaw；
Ifanycursedawoman，hetooknote。’
Yetstaredatnobody，——youstaredathim，Andfound，lesstoyourpleasurethansurprise，Heseemedtoknowyou，andexpectasmuch。”
Popularimaginationisactiveastowhoandwhatheis；perhapsaspy，oritmaybe”arecordingchief-inquisitor，thetown’struemasterifthetownbutknew”，whobyletterskeeps”ourLordtheKing”
wellinformed”ofallthought，said，andacted”；butoftheKing’sapprovaloftheseletterstherehasbeennoevidenceofanykind。
Thespeakerfoundnotruthinoneofthepopularreports，namely，thatthisstrangemanlivedingreatluxuryandsplendor。
Onthecontrary，helivedintheplainest，simplestmanner；
playedagameofcribbagewithhismaid，intheevening，and，whenthechurchclockstruckten，wentstraightofftobed。
Itseemsthatwhilethebeliefofthepeoplewas，thatthismankeptupacorrespondencewiththeirearthlyLord，theKing，notingallthatwenton，thespeaker，inthemonologueisawarethatitwastheHeavenlyKingwithwhomhecorresponded。
Inthelastparagraphofhismonologueheexpressesthewishthathemighthavelookedin，yethadhaplybeenafraid，whenthismancametodie，andseen，ministeringtohim，theheavenlyattendants，——”wholinethecleangaygarretsides，Andstoodabouttheneatlowtruckle-bedWiththeheavenlymannerofrelievingguard。
Herehadbeen，mark，thegeneral-in-chief，Thro’awholecampaignoftheworld’slifeanddeath，DoingtheKing’sworkallthedimdaylong，*****
And，nowthedaywaswon，relievedatonce！”
Hethenaddsthattherewas”`Nofurthershoworneedofthatoldcoat，Youaresure，foronething！Blessus，allthewhileHowsprucelyWEaredressedout，youandI！’”
wewhoaresoinferiortothatdivinepoet；but，”Asecond，andtheangelsalterthat。””Transcendentalism”。
Apoemintwelvebooks。
Thismonologueisaddressedbyapoettoabrother-poetwhomhefindsfaultwithforspeakingnakedthoughtsinsteadofdrapingtheminsightsandsounds。Ifboyswantimagesandmelody，grownmen，youthink，wantabstractthought。Farfromit。