Chapter I: Front Matter

THE MAGIC RING.

OLIVER & BOYD, PRINTERS.

THE

MAGIC RING;

A ROMANCE,

FROM THE GERMAN OF

FREDERICK, BARON DE LA MOTTE FOUQUÉ

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

EDINBURGH;

PUBLISHED BY
OLIVER & BOYD, TWEEDDALE-COURT;
AND GEO. B. WHITTAKER, LONDON.

1825.

TO

CONRAD CHARLES,

FREYHERR VON ÄMSELNBURG, IN BERLIN,

TRANSLATOR OF

_“The Lady of the Lake,” “The Bridal of Triermain,”
and “The Antiquary.”_

I know not, my dear friend, whether you recollect a conversation that we had some time since respecting the Baron de la Motte Fouqué and his writings. If you do not, I take the liberty of calling it to your remembrance,--as what you then said has not only induced me to execute the following translation, but may likewise serve as an introductory notice to the readers of the work.

I remember well that, when speaking of the Baron, (in whose company we had dined that day at Charlottenburg,) you bestowed great praise on his various publications;--but, being then an incompetent judge of their merits, I could only reply, that I doubted not they deserved the eulogiums you passed upon them, since the Baron was certainly a jovial and pleasant companion,--a “chevalier, _sans peur et sans reproche_,” if one might judge from the serenity of his aspect, and the complacency with which he quaffed his old Hochheimer and Johannisberg.

I had indeed, as a tyro in the German language, tried to read over his “Magic Ring,” the only work of his which had fallen in my way; but I had not been long at Berlin ere I was informed of the high reputation he had acquired by his writings on various subjects. I heard of his early devotion to literature; of his friendship with the Schlegels; of his being “_in utrumque paratus_,” with the pen and the sword; of his campaigns as an officer, when the tumults and devastations of the French invasion were at their height; and especially of his conduct in the battles of Kulm in Bohemia, of Lutzen, of Leipsig, and afterwards on the banks of the “castellated Rhine.” I had opportunities of meeting with the Baron, and was invited to pass some days at his country residence of Nennhausen; though circumstances rendered it impossible for me to profit sufficiently by his hospitality.

I also remember that, on the evening to which I have alluded, you were so eloquent in praise of the Baron, that we were detained till it was too late to go to the opera,--and therefore walked up and down in the long _allée_, under the lime-trees, for nearly two hours, during which time you went on analyzing and commending every one of his numerous productions. Among these, you expressed your special admiration of his “Hero of the North,” and “Eginhard and Emma;” both of which, you insisted, were animated by the true spirit of chivalry and romance, and that in an English dress they would be excellent, either in their dramatic form, or remodelled into prose novels. But, as I expressed my dislike to dramatic poems which were unfit for the stage, you proceeded to mention the Baron’s other narrative works, such as “Waldemar the Pilgrim,” “Thiodulf’s Wanderings,” “Bertrand de Guesclin,” and many more, which, though favourites of yours, are altogether unknown in this country.

At last we came to speak of the “Magic Ring,”--the only one of our author’s works which I had then seen, and which I had only glanced at very hastily;--and you naturally asked me how it happened, that although “Undina,” “Sintram,” and even the “Minstrel Love,” were translated into English, this romance had been hitherto neglected? To this I replied, that the “Sintram” and “Undina” were, even in the translation, interesting tales of wonder;--but that, on the contrary, the beauties of the “Magic Ring,” which are so much admired by a German reader, depended on certain characteristic features, which a translator could never impart, unless by means of a _remaniement_ or _rifacimento_. These peculiarities were, first, the Baron’s accurate imitation of the quaint, rude style of the old romancers; secondly, the melody of his verses, in which the thoughts are far too shadowy to be embodied in our language; thirdly, his allegorical representations and historical allusions, which no English reader could well comprehend, especially as the author has not furnished a proper key to unfold their meaning.

These objections, especially the last, you treated with indifference; and although my own opinion (that a _remaniement_ would have been far better than a translation) remains unaltered,--yet, having resolved to translate the “Magic Ring” by way of experiment, I have adopted, as nearly as possible, the method you suggested for its execution.

For I recollect distinctly, that, on my requesting to hear your opinion how an English version ought to be attempted, your answer was, that the “Magic Ring” would, if _literally_ translated, make a very amusing novel in the style adopted among us sixty years ago in “Popular Tales of the Germans,” and which, by the way, has been recently exemplified in Mr Roscoe’s Italian Romances. With regard to the _old-Frankish tournure_ of language, the stiffness with which a translator too often moves through his task, and which has been aptly compared to the performance of our Macheath “dancing a hornpipe in real fetters,” might perhaps serve as a tolerable imitation of that characteristic. As to the songs and other poetry, these, you said, were merely portions of the story thrown into rhyme, and would succeed just as well in prose as in verse.

Lastly, You observed, that, for understanding the author’s allegorical allusions, nothing more was requisite than to bear in mind the history of the Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, &c.; otherwise known by the name of the Normans (Nordmänner) or “Men of the North.” These people (represented in this work by an ancient warrior, bearing in his latter days the name of Sir Hugh von Trautwangen,) being poor, and dissatisfied with their own cold regions, emigrated in great numbers to the more southern countries of France, England, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy; nay, it is said, even into Greece, Palestine, and other oriental climes. Of these historical facts, no school-boy in Britain is ignorant, as every one has read of Normandy and the Norman invasion.

The Nordmänner, or Normans, at the first period of their emigrations, were Pagans,--the votaries of Odin and the other fabulous gods of Valhalla; they were also skilled in necromancy and all the varied arts of the magician,--whether for purposes of good or evil,--wherein (as learned divines have sometimes maintained of the ancient oracles) the devil might be supposed to have assisted them.

Such are the materials whence Fouqué has drawn the machinery of his romances. The _white_ magic of the now converted Druda contends against the black machinations of the infidel Gerda; and as for the “Mysterious Ring,” it seems to have been only one among other necromantic spells, though some readers have supposed that the author hereby intended to allegorize the delusive spirit of the World, and of the worldly-minded, in opposition to that of pure religion and heavenly affections. Hence the Baron has represented the people of the North as led astray to wage war against all nations and against each other; till at last, by the influence of Bertha, (a personification of the true Christian faith,) they become harmonized and happily united into one community.

“Nothing,” you added, “can be clearer and more intelligible than this outline; and, if the work were even _literally_ rendered into English, it would present an excellent ‘knightly tale of the olden time,’ with a religio-historical moral. Let this be done, and there need be no doubt entertained of its success.”

To these remarks I ventured to reply, that, to the best of my judgment, there was not one character in the romance, nor any part of the machinery, under which the author had not involved some abstruse and figurative meaning which ought to be explained. Gerda, for example, I alleged, was not a mere enchantress, introduced for the purpose of bringing about some strange adventures: on the contrary, she seemed to represent Superstition, whose horrid rites are contrasted with the mild and rational piety of the Druda. The Ring, too, I thought, might not only be intended to allegorize the delusions of the world, but also those of natural-magic, (_die natur-kenntnisse_,) and other profane sciences.--“Trouble yourself no farther with such inquiries and speculations,” you replied: “emblems and allegories are nuts hard enough to crack; let the readers break their teeth on them if they will.”

With this homely metaphor our discourse ended; and your plan has accordingly been carried into effect. Instead of indulging my own feelings in a _remaniement_,--which would have been a new work founded on old materials,--I have merely translated the Baron’s words, (which need not preclude other German scholars from bringing forward the same story on a different plan); and, under the auspices of your name, which is at least as well known here as that of the Baron, it is not without some degree of confidence that I introduce these volumes to the public.

I am, my dear sir, with great respect, &c. &c.

THE TRANSLATOR.