Page:Libussa, Duchess of Bohemia; also, The Man Without a Name.djvu/10

vi imbedded in our souls. The human mind is not always satisfied with the real; its boundless activity passes from realities into the domain of hypothetic possibilities. Thus each nation has its fancy stories, which, if they form not part of its literature, are at least traditional in the mouths of the million; and, sooner or later, a man of talent will be found who, working in the large field of literature, will find some as yet uncultivated corner, and devote it entirely to popular fancy tales. This is what Musus has done in Germany, and which has made his name as immortal as the language.

In popular fancy tales the national character can be as easily traced as in the mechanical works of art of a nation. Thus, richness of invention, luxuriance, and surfeit in strange decorations, distinguish the Eastern fabrics as well as the Eastern tales. Carelessness in elaborating, lightness and shallowness in the fundamental parts, with a certain ease and grace, are to be traced in the French manufactures, as well as in their Contes des Fées. System, harmony, and solid composition, are the marks of German implements and of German poetry.