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The Courier-Review.
by this love of the Germans for their literature and by their romantic nature, sought to unite with his purpose to entertain, an attempt to awaken national patriotism by these subjects out of a romantic past.
In Scotland not many years before, had appeared the first of a series of novels which really taught the Germans the art of infusing this spirit into fiction. Scott's work written with no didactic purpose of creating national sentiment but merely the expression of a heart like so many other Scottish hearts, full of warmth, love and appreciation of its fatherland was a strong power in intensifying this feeling and not that alone but he aroused in other nations the deepest interest in the romantic past of this little country. He showed how potent a power the historical novel may be in spreading lofty thoughts, in inspiring and strengthening national feelings and ideas.
Analagous to Scott's work for Scotland is this work of the German novelists for their land. Not that they were the only ones who carried on this movement. Great honor must be given to the beautiful Queen Louise to the great statesman Stein for the vigorous efforts they made toward building up a nation, but in these historical novelists were found loyal supporters and lieutenants in these efforts.
First to be mentioned among these writers is Alexis, not on account of the importance of his work itself but from the fact that he was the first to attempt to arouse the dormant national life by a series of historical novels. Scott had glorified the heroes of his fatherland—did not Germany, he queried, likewise possess a rich historical past and must not the picturing of its struggles and fates attract the German public far more than the foreign Scottish world. Thus he at least opened the way for his successors who while they far overshadowed him in the result of their works, had the common object "to cultivate diligently national thoughts in a time of hopelessness and despair."
romantic interests the struggle of Ulrich of Wirtemberg in the Sixteenth century. His work is written with the avowed purpose of arousing in his countrymen a keener appreciation of the scenes and deeds of their own history, of crushing out that tendency to over-esteem every thing foreign not because it is great or noble but merely because it is foreign.
Four great historical novelists followed in these lines, Hauff, Sheffel, Freytag and Dahn. In "Lichtenstrin," William Hauff depicts one of the periods of German history most full of
Sheffel goes farther back in time and presents in his Ekkehard a most charming picture of German life in the Tenth century. He avows no direct purpose to arouse national feeling but so perfectly does he grasp the spirit of that age and inspire it with life, that it cannot but have that result.
The series of novels known as Die Ahurn Gustav Freytag dedicated to the Crown Princess Victoria very clearly expressing his hope of touching a chord of sympathy between the past and present, while Dahn the last of this group in going back to the history of the Goths in the Fifth century chose a subject which must be of interest to every German because the story of their common ancestry.
This then in merest outline is the work which these writers attempted nearly all with the avowed common purpose not to teach history but by stimulating an interest in their past history to awaken in them a realization of its import, to arouse in them what we call patriotism. To say that these works were the sole cause of the final national spirit aroused in Germany would of course be untrue but it undoubtedly is true that they were an important force in accomplishing this revival of patriotism in their native land. These novels each full of interest and charm, each full of the breath of loyalty were widely read. How could it be otherwise than that the people influenced perhaps unconsciously by the breath of warm national feeling in them should come to be more proud that they themselves represented a part of this same people, that in reading these novels they should come to feel more clearly the reality of their past history, to feel a common pride and a true spirit of patriotism.
Patriotism does not consist in a display of feeling or wild enthusiasm or even in that