suddenly poured out over the German soil as if
by a divinity. With an enthusiasm which often approached to worship,
the German gave himself up to the charms of his national poetry. The
world of shining imagery acquired in his eyes an importance which
sometimes made him unjust to the practical life which surrounded him.
He, who so often appeared as the citizen of a nation without a State,
found almost everything that was noble and exalted in the golden realm
of poetry and art; the realities about him appeared to him common, low,
and indifferent.

How through this an aristocracy of men of refinement were trained,--how
the great poets themselves were occupied in looking down with proud
resignation from their serene heights on the twilight of the German
earth,--has often been portrayed. Here we will only relate how the time
worked on the common run of men, remodelling their characters and
ideas.

It is the year 1790, four years after the death of the great King; the
second year in which the eyes of Germany had been fixed with
astonishment on the condition of France. A few individuals only
interested themselves in the struggle going on in the capital of a
foreign country betwixt the nation and the throne. The German citizen
had freed himself from the influence of French culture; indeed Frederic
II. had taught his country people to pay little attention to the
political condition of the neighbouring country. It was known that
great reforms were necessary in France, and the literary men were on
the side of the French opposition. The Germans were more especially
occupied with themselves; a feeling of satisfaction is perceptible in
the nation, of which they had been long deprived; they perceive that
they are making good progress; a wonderful spirit of reform penetrates
through their whole life: trade is flourishing, wealth increases, the
new culture exalts and pleases, youths recite with feeling the verses
of their favourite poet, and rejoice to see on the stage the
representations of great virtues and vices, and listen to the
entrancing sounds of German music. It was a new life, but it was the
end of the good time. Many years later the Germans looked longingly
back for the peaceful years after the Seven Years' War.

If any one at this time entered the streets of a moderate-sized city,
through which he had passed in the year 1750, he would be struck by the
greater energy of its inhabitants. The old walls and gates are indeed