it. Thomas Carlyle remarked in conversation that there were "ingenious remarks here and there; but nobody out of bedlam ever before thought of choosing such a theme". On the other hand, The Examiner thanked Browning for "his brave and eloquent unfolding of some of the chief social abuses of the present day". A few years later the poet Arthur Symons praised it for virtues not normally associated with Browning: "No tale could be more straightforward, no language more lucid, no verse more free from harshness or irregularity", while G. K. Chesterton wrote that "Browning was one of those wise men who can perceive the terrible and impressive poetry of the police-news which is commonly treated as vulgarity". Notes External links Online edition at Internet Archive Discussion by Barbara T. Gates at the Victorian Web Poetry by Robert Browning 1873 books 1873 poems Narrative poems Calvados (department)