The first of these books is much the better of the two.

A certain touch of romance is given by the Dervish, by the Fables with which he illustrates his teaching, and by the Eastern surroundings.

Some of the stories are well told, and their scenery is truthfully wrought and in good colour.

The subjects are partly theological, with always a reference to human life; and partly of the affections and their working.

It is natural to a poet, and delightful in Browning, to find him in his old age dwelling from poem to poem on the pre-eminence of love, on love as the ultimate judge of all questions.