Page:Select Popular Tales from the German of Musaeus.djvu/12

vi of the Fountain,” we see the sad results of an easy credulity on the part of the Count, who listens but too readily to the false accusations against his wife; while invisible powers are watching over her safety, and at last vindicate her innocence at the moment of her extreme peril.

We need hardly remark, that the sources of these stories are to be found in the popular legends with which Germany abounds, and many of which are known in our own country with more or less variation. The author’s manner of treating them, however, is so original and ingenious, that we almost forget that we have known them before: an old acquaintance may be said to meet us, in the pages of Musaeus, with all the freshness and interest of entire novelty; and we may well forget that the tale of “Roland’s Squires” is but an embellished version of the simple legend of the “Three Soldiers and the Dwarf,”—“Richilda” of “Snowdrop,”—“The Nymph of the Fountain” of “Catskin,” and so on. For these legends in their unadorned state, we may refer to Grimm’s famous “Kinder and Hausmärchen,” or to “Household Tales and Traditions” (in this Series), where the greater part of them will be found. These Stories are so captivating in their original form, that we almost regret, at first, that any attempt should be made to embellish them; and, indeed, nothing but the wit and cleverness of a Musaeus, or, on the other hand, the poetry and deep earnestness of a Tieck, could compensate for the loss of their simple beauty. However, we believe they may be relished in both ways; and, without further preface, we commend the following specimens to the reader.