à Kempis; in form he aimed at conciseness and directness
rather than at artistic perfection. His poetry lacks
enthusiasm and coloring, but it has dramatic interest.

[Footnote 4: Menéndez y Pelayo (_Ant. Poetas Hisp.-Am._,
I, p. lv) says: "Al fin españoles somos, y á tal profusión
de luz y á tal estrépito de palabras sonoras no hay entre
nosotros quien resista."]

The poets Manuel del PALACIO (1832-1895) and Federico
BALART (1831-1905), though quite unlike in genius, won the
esteem of their contemporaries. Palacio wrote excellent
sonnets and epigrams. In his _Leyendas y poemas_ he proved
his mastery of Spanish diction; he had, moreover, the
saving grace of humor which was so noticeably lacking in
Zorrilla's legends. The poet and literary critic, Balart,
achieved fame with his _Dolores_, in which he mourns with
sincere grief the death of his beloved wife. Mention
should also be made of the following poets who deserve
recognition in this brief review of the history of Spanish
lyric poetry: Vicente Wenceslao QUEROL (1836-1889), a
Valencian, whose _El eclipse, Cartas á María_, and _La
fiesta de Venus_, evince a remarkable technical skill
and an unusual correctness of diction; Teodoro page xlii
LLORENTE (cf. p. 279); José GALIANO ALCALÁ whose verses
have delicate feeling and lively imagination; Emilio
FERRARI (b. 1853), the author of _Abelardo é Hipatia_
and _Aspiración_; the pessimistic poets, Joaquín María de
BARTRINA (1850-1880) and Gabino TEJADO; Salvador RUEDA (b.
1857), author of _El bloque_, _En tropel_ and _Cantos