Page:German Stories (Volumes 1–2).djvu/14

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viii
Introduction.

to England or Scotland, might (in good hands) have made an excellent sketch of domestic life, after the manner of Miss Edgeworth—or rather, perhaps, that of the author of “Lights and Shadows.”

The “Siege of Antwerp,” here but a rough outline, is yet admirably conceived, and might supply the ground-work for a historical novel in three volumes.

“Wallburga’s Night” is a pretty fair specimen of supernatural or fairy legend; while “Oath and Conscience,”—and the “Crystal Dagger” by Professor Kruse of Copenhagen, though but minor productions of his pen, prove his ingenuity in the contrivance of mysterious and intricate plot.

The “Spectre Bride” and the “Sisters” are among those numberless ghost stories, of which the late M. G. Lewis has been the only success-