TALES
FROM
THE GERMAN,
COMPRISING
SPECIMENS FROM THE MOST CELEBRATED AUTHORS.
TRANSLATED BY
JOHN OXENFORD AND C. A. FEILING.
LONDON:
CHAPMAN AND HALL, 186, STRAND.
1844.
C. WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION
LIBUSSA. BY J. H. MUSÆUS. (J. O.)
THE CRIMINAL FROM LOST HONOUR. BY FRIEDRICH SCHILLER. (J. O.)
THE COLD HEART. BY WILHELM HAUFF. (C. A. F.)
THE WONDERS IN THE SPESSART. BY KARL IMMERMANN. (J. O.)
NOSE, THE DWARF. BY W. HAUFF. (C. A. F.)
AXEL. BY C. F. VAN DER VELDE. (C. A. F.)
THE SANDMAN. BY E. T. W. HOFFMANN. (J. O.)
MICHAEL KOHLHAAS. BY HEINRICH VON KLEIST. (J. O.)
THE KLAUSENBURG. BY LUDWIG TIECK. (C. A. F.)
THE MOON. BY JEAN PAUL FRIEDRICH RICHTER. (J. O.)
THE ELEMENTARY SPIRIT. BY E. T. W. HOFFMANN. (J. O.)
ST. CECILIA; OR, THE POWER OF MUSIC. BY H. VON KLEIST. (J. O.)
THE NEW PARIS. BY J. W. GOETHE. (J. O.)
ALI AND GULHYNDI. BY ADAM OEHLENSCHLAEGER. (C. A. F.)
ALAMONTADE. BY HEINRICH ZSCHOKKE. (C. A. F.)
THE JESUITS’ CHURCH IN G——. BY E. T. W. HOFFMANN. (J. O.)
THE SEVERED HAND. BY W. HAUFF. (C. A. F.)
INTRODUCTION.
The object of the translators of the following tales was to present theEnglish public with a collection, which should combine effectivenesswith variety, and at the same time should contain specimens of the mostcelebrated writers of prose fiction whom Germany has produced. Thenames of the authors will, they think, be a sufficient guarantee thatthey have not failed in this last respect, and if the reader findshimself amused or interested by the series, they will have succeededentirely.
It will be remembered that the collection is a collection of talesonly, and that it was absolutely necessary, according to the plan ofthe book, that these tales should be numerous. Any thing like alengthened novel was therefore excluded, as it would have exceeded theprescribed limits, or rendered impossible that variety which thetranslators considered an essential of their work. That short tales,from their very nature, cannot often promote any very high purpose, andthat amusement for a leisure hour is their principal purpose, thetranslators are perfectly aware, admitting that their collection,generally speaking, does not convey that amount of instruction in lifeand thought, which might be obtained from more elaborate works, suchas, for example, the Wilhelm Meister of Göthe. At the same time theytrust that Kleist’s Michael Kohlhaas, Zschokke’s Alamontade,Schiller’s Criminal from Lost Honour[1] and even Hauff’s fancifulCold Heart, will be acceptable to those who look for something bey