Old Fritz and the New Era

L. (Luise) Mühlbach

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• Publié par: vides
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 28
• Langue: English

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The Project Gutenberg EBook of Old Fritz and the New Era, by Louise Muhlbach
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Title: Old Fritz and the New Era
Author: Louise Muhlbach
Translator: Peter Langley
Release Date: January 28, 2009 [EBook #3460]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLD FRITZ AND THE NEW ERA ***
Produced by Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team,
and David Widger
OLD FRITZ AND THE NEW ERA
By L. Muhlbach
Translated from the German by Peter Langley
Contents
FOREWORD
OLD FRITZ AND THE NEW ERA.BOOK I. OLD FRITZ.
CHAPTER I. THE LONELY KING.
CHAPTER II. WILHELMINE ENKE.
CHAPTER III. FREDERICK WILLIAM.
CHAPTER IV. THE DRIVE TO BERLIN.
CHAPTER V. THE OATH OF FIDELITY.
CHAPTER VI. THE PARADE.
CHAPTER VII. THE MIRACULOUS ELIXIR.
CHAPTER VIII. THE GOLDEN RAIN.
CHAPTER IX. GERMAN LITERATURE AND THE KING.

BOOK II. ROSICRUCIANS AND POWERFUL GENIUSES
CHAPTER X. GOETHE IN BERLIN.
CHAPTER XI. THE INNER AND THE MIDDLE TEMPLE.
CHAPTER XII. THE JESUIT GENERAL
CHAPTER XIII. A PENSIONED GENERAL.
CHAPTER XIV. THE KING'S LETTER.
CHAPTER XV. HATE AND LOVE
CHAPTER XVI. CHARLES AUGUSTUS AND GOETHE.
CHAPTER XVII. GOETHE'S VISITS.
CHAPTER XVIII. FAREWELL TO BERLIN.

BOOK III. STORM AND PRESSURE
CHAPTER XIX. THE KING AND THE AUSTRIAN DIPLOMAT.
CHAPTER XX. THE KING AND THE LOVER.
CHAPTER XXI. IN WEIMAR.
CHAPTER XXII. THE READING.
CHAPTER XXIII. WITCHCRAFT
CHAPTER XXIV. THE PURSE-PROUD MAN.
CHAPTER XXV. THE ELOPEMENT.
CHAPTER XXVI. UNDER THE STARRY HEAVENS.
CHAPTER XXVII. THE SACRIFICE.

BOOK IV. THE VISIBLES AND THE INVISIBLES.
CHAPTER XXVIII. OLD FRITZ.
CHAPTER XXIX. CAGLIOSTRO'S RETURN.
CHAPTER XXX. THE TRIUMVIRATE.
CHAPTER XXXI. FUTURE PLANS.
CHAPTER XXXII. MIRACLES AND SPIRITS.
CHAPTER XXXIII. THE RETURN HOME.
CHAPTER XXXIV. BEHIND THE MASK.
CHAPTER XXXV. THE CURSE.
CHAPTER XXXVI. THE KING AND THE ROSICRUCIANS.
CHAPTER XXXVII. THE ESPOUSALS.
CHAPTER XXXVIII. REVENGE FULFILLED.FOREWORD
I would merely say a few words in justification of the Historical Romance, in
its relation to history. Any one, with no preceding profound study of history,
who takes a few well-known historical facts as a foundation for an airy castle
of romantic invention and fantastic adventure, may easily write an Historical
Romance; for him history is only the nude manikin which he clothes and
adorns according to his own taste, and to which he gives the place and
position most agreeable to himself. But only the writer who is in earnest with
respect to historical truth, who is not impelled by levity or conceited
presumption, is justified in attempting this species of composition; thoroughly
impressed with the greatness of his undertaking, he will with modest humility
constantly remember that he has proposed to himself a great and sublime
work which, however, it will be difficult if not impossible for him wholly and
completely to accomplish.
But what is this great, this sublime end, which the Historical Romance
writer proposes to attain? It is this: to illustrate history, to popularize it; to bring
forth from the silent studio of the scholar and to expose in the public market of
life, for the common good, the great men and great deeds embalmed in
history, and of which only the studious have hitherto enjoyed the monopoly.
Thus, at least, have I considered the vocation I have chosen, not vainly or
inconsiderately, but with a profound conviction of the greatness of my
undertaking, and with a depressing consciousness that my power and
acquirements may prove inadequate for the attainment of my proposed end.
But I am also fully conscious of what was and still is my greatest desire: to
give an agreeable and popular form to our national history, which may attract
the attention and affections of our people, which may open their
understandings to the tendencies of political movements, and connect the
facts of history with the events of actual life.
The severe historian has to do but with accomplished facts; he can only
record and describe, with the strictest regard to truth, that which has outwardly
occurred. He describes the battles of peoples, the struggles of nations, the
great deeds of heroes, the actions of princes—in short, he gives the
accomplished facts. To investigate and explain the secret motives, the hidden
causes of these facts, to present them in connection with all that impelled to
them, this is the task of Historical Romance.
The historian presents to you the outward face, the external form of history;
Historical Romance would show you the heart of history, and thus bring near
to your heart what, else, would stand so far off. To enable him to do this, the
writer of an Historical Romance must, indeed, make severe and various
studies. He must devote his whole mind and soul to the epoch he would
illustrate, he must live in it and feel with it. He must so familiarize himself with
all the details, as in a manner to become a child of that epoch; for he can
present a really living image of only that which is living in himself. That this
requires a deep and earnest study of history is self-evident. Historical
Romance demands the study of the historian, together with the creativeimagination of the poet. For the free embodiment of the poet can blossom only
from out the studio of the historian, as the flower from the seed; as, by a
reciprocal organic action, the hyacinth is derived from the onion, and the rose
from its seed-capsule, so are history and poetry combined in the Historical
Romance, giving and receiving life to and from each other.
The Historical Romance has its great task and its great justification—a truth
disputed by only those who either have not understood or will not understand
its nature.
The Historical Romance has, if I may be allowed so to speak, four several
objects for which to strive:
Its first object is, to throw light upon the dark places of history, necessarily
left unclear by the historian. Poetry has the right and duty of setting facts in a
clear light, and of illuminating the darkness by its sunny beams. The poetry of
the romance writer seeks to deduce historical characteristics from historical
facts, and to draw from the spirit of history an elucidation of historical
characters, so that the writer may be able to detect their inmost thoughts and
feelings, and in just and sharp traits to communicate them to others.
The second task of Historical Romance is, to group historical characters
according to their internal natures, and thus to elucidate and illustrate history.
This illustration then leads to the third task, which is the discovery and
exposition of the motives which impel individual historical personages to the
performance of great historical acts, and from outwardly, apparently
insignificant events in their lives to deduce their inmost thoughts and natures,
and represent them clearly to others.
Thence follows the fourth task: the illustration of historical facts by a
romance constructed in the spirit of the history. This fourth and principal task
is the presentation of history in a dramatic form and with animated
descriptions; upon the foundation of history to erect the temple of poesy,
which must nevertheless be pervaded and illuminated by historic truth. From
this it naturally follows that it is of very little consequence whether the
personages of the Historical Romance actually spoke the words or performed
the acts attributed to them; it is only necessary that those words and deeds
should be in accordance with the spirit and character of such historical
personages, and that the writer should not attribute to them what they could
not have spoken or done. In the Historical Romance, when circumstances or
events are presented in accordance with historical tradition, when the
characters are naturally described, they bear with them their own justification,
and Historical Romance has need of no further defence.
Historical Romance should be nothing but an illustration of history. If the
drawing, grouping, coloring, and style of such an illustration of any given
historical epoch are admitted to be true, then the illustration rises to the
elevation of a work of art, worthy of a place beside the historical picture, and
is equally useful.
Raphael's "School of Athens," his "Institution of the Communion," and
many others of his pictures, are such illustrations of history—as also the great
paintings of Rubens from the life of Anna dei Medici; and then the historical
pictures of Horace Vernet, of Delaroche, of Lessing, and of Kaulbach—all
these are illustrations of history. What those artists present and illustrate with
paint and pencil, the Historical Romancer represents in words with his pen;
and when he does this successfully, he will live in the memory of his reader
as imperishably as the great historical pictures of the painters in the memory
of their beholders.It would occur to no one to accuse a successful historica