During his stay in Italy, Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) visited Florence, with which he was delighted beyond measure. The literary outcome of this visit was the well-known fantastic and brilliant "Florentine Nights." It is a series of brilliant pictures united by a very slight thread of connection; it is charming in its vague and uneventful wandering, with its strong suggestion of the great original, the Arabian Nights, and its still stronger contrast. In addition, in this love-tale occur some of the best examples of Heine's biting vein.