most famous poems (_Moise_, _Eloa_,
_Dolorida_) being in Alexandrines, and the general form of his verse
inclines to that of the eighteenth-century elegy, while it has much of
the classical (not pseudo-classical) proportion and grace of Chenier.
But his language, and in part his versification, are romantic, though
quieter in style than those of most of his companions, whom it must be
remembered he for the most part forestalled. In _Moise_ much of what has
been called Victor Hugo's 'science of names' is anticipated, as well as
his large manner of landscape and declamation. _Eloa_ suggests rather
Lamartine, but a Lamartine with his weakness replaced by strength, while
_Dolorida_ has a strong flavour of Musset. The remarkable thing is that
in each case the peculiarities of the poet to whom Vigny has been
compared were not fully developed until after he wrote, and that
therefore he has the merit of originality. It is probable, however,
that, exquisite as his poetical power was, it lacked range, and that he,
having the rare faculty of discerning this, designedly limited his
production. The best of the posthumous poems already mentioned are fully
worthy of his earlier ones, but they display no new faculty.

[Sidenote: Auguste Barbier.]

If Alfred de Vigny is a poet of few books, Auguste Barbier is a poet of
one. Born in 1805, Barbier never formed part of the Romantic circle,
properly so called, but he shared to the full its inspiring influence.
He began by an historical novel of no great merit, but the revolution of
1830 served as the occasion of his _Iambes_, a series of extraordinarily
brilliant and vigorous satires, both political and social. The most
famous of all these is _La Curee_, a description of the ignoble scramble
for place and profit under the new Orleanist government. No satirical
work in modern days has had greater success, and few have deserved it
more; the weight and polish of the verse being altogether admirable.
Satire is, however, a vein which it is very difficult to work for any
length of time with any novelty, as may be seen sufficiently from the
fact that the works of all the best satirists, ancient and modern, are
contained in a very small compass. Barbier endeavoured to secure the
necessary variety of subjects by going to Italy in _Il Pianto_, and to
England in _Lazare_, but without success, though both contain many
examples of the nervous and splendid verse in which he excels. During
the last forty