Page:The Ballads of Marko Kraljević.djvu/22

 To return to the main stream of German endeavour, we find a woman, Fräulein von Jacob, taking the lead in the task of translation. Her full name was Therese Albertine Luise von Jacob, whence she derived her somewhat awkward pseudonym of Talvj. Introduced by Grimm to the work of Vuk, and learning that her idol Goethe was interested in the subject, she was carried away by an eager desire to do something that would attract his attention to herself. Forthwith she plunged impetuously into correspondence with the veteran poet, and her hopes were not disappointed, for Goethe proved not unwilling to play the part of benevolent counsellor and friend to a young and charming lady of literary talent. Thus encouraged Talvj went enthusiastically to work. In 1825 the first volume of her Volkslieder der Serben appeared, and was followed by the second volume the year after. It is an important book, for although Talvj lacked poetical insight and worked at a speed incompatible with a fastidious choice of words, she was the first to present to the German public, and so to the world at large, a copious and systematic selection of the rich material collected and printed by Vuk.

Her work was well received and was fruitful in many directions. One particular result deserves special notice, for it was the publication of the Volkslieder der Serben that prompted Sir John Bowring to produce his Servian Popular Poetry (1827), the first attempt to introduce the subject to English readers. The dedication, in verse, is addressed to "Dr Steph. Vuk Karadjich." It is uncommonly bad verse. Fortunately it is by far the worst thing in the book. The introduction is instructive, but in the course of it the author makes the curious mistake of referring to the gusle as a "three-stringed instrument." "The historical ballads," he continues, "which are in lines composed of five trochaics, are always sung with the accompaniment of the Gusle. At the end of every verse the singer drops his voice and mutters