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TITLE: OLD FRITZ AND THE NEW ERA
AUTHOR: LOUISE MUHLBACH
EBOOK: E02045 (O'Briens Book Cellar)

OLD FRITZ AND THE NEW ERA

L. MUHLBACH

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY PETER LANGLEY

BOOK I.

OLD FRITZ.

I. The Lonely King

II. Wilhelmine Enke

III. Frederick William

IV. The Drive to Berlin

V. The Oath of Fidelity

VI. The Parade

VII. The Miraculous Elixir

VIII. The Golden Rain

IX. German Literature and the King

BOOK II.

ROSICRUCIANS AND POWERFUL GENIUSES.

X. Goethe in Berlin

XI. The Inner and the Middle Temple

XII. The Jesuit General

XIII. A Pensioned General

XIV. The King's Letter

XV. Hate and Love

XVI. Charles Augustus and Goethe

XVII. Goethe's Visits

XVIII. Farewell to Berlin

BOOK III.

STORM AND PRESSURE.

XIX. The King and the Austrian Diplomat

XX. The King and the Lover

XXI. In Weimar

XXII. The Reading

XXIII. Witchcraft

XXIV. The Purse-Proud Man

XXV. The Elopement

XXVI. Under the Starry Heavens

XXVII. The Sacrifice

BOOK IV.

THE VISIBLES AND THE INVISIBLES.

XXVIII. Old Fritz

XXIX. Cagliostro's Return

XXX. The Triumvirate

XXXI. Future Plans

XXXII. Miracles and Spirits

XXXIII. The Return Home

XXXIV. Behind the Mask

XXXV. The Curse

XXXVI. The King and the Rosicrucians

XXXVII. The Espousals

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 creative imagination 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

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