same favour as my Deutsche Lyrik, the more so because the love of ballad-poetry, so magnificently represented in English literature, is innate in the English people, or I should rather say in the AngloSaxon race; which circumstance accounts, I believe, for the great success of nearly all collections of English ballads, of which a highly commendable specimen has been published in the present series.1 Now the German ballad, owing its origin to the English ballad, is sure to meet, I think, in this country, with a cordial reception, in virtue of that sympathetic bond. There is another circumstance which makes me hope that this volume will prove welcome to readers on both sides of the Atlantic. The publication of my collection of German lyrics brought me a number of communications from English readers of German, who thanked me for the comfort and gratification they derived from my Deutsche Lyrik. Now, to judge from the effect of the reading of the ballads upon myself and my wife, who assisted me in the work of selecting them at a time when we stood most in need of solace, I should think that they will offer to the reader that comforting feeling which 1 The Ballad Book. A Selection of the Choicest British Ballads. Edited by William Allingham. is generally afforded by such poetical productions as are calculated to excite in us deep emotion. Amusing works may entertain for the moment, but it is the tragic element in poetry which, by stirring our feelings, yields lasting solace and comfort. For this reason the ballad may be still better adapted to afford relief to the feeling heart than purely lyrical poetry, its import resembling in general that of a tragedy. Some ballads are, of course, of a humorous and cheerful character; of this class a number of specimens will be found in the present volume for the sake of furnishing a pleasant variety. I may add that for the same purpose I did not arrange the ballads in each Period in strictly chronological order, but placed them, as far as possible, in harmonious succession. The system I followed in dividing the collection into Periods will be found explained in the Introduction. In conclusion it is my pleasant duty to express my cordial thanks to Mr. J. Barwick Hodge, of Ch. Ch., for his valuable assistance in reading the proofs of the English portions of this volume. KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON. August 1st, 1891. C. A. BUCHHEIM. t |