his readers before they arrive at the historical
and critical parts of the work, which are really valuable. The narrative
of Ulrich von Lichtenstein of the thirteenth century, who sent one of
his fingers to an exacting lady-love, and paraded through Europe on her
quests disguised variously as King Arthur, Queen Venus or as a leper, is
one which makes the maddest deeds of Quixote seem sane, although he was
a true singer and an admired chevalier of his period. Gottfried von
Strassburg, whose excellent poem of _Tristan and Isolde_ inspires the
writer with his least unhappy translation, leads the subject away from
the mere love-carolers toward the authors of the metrical romances, the
bards of Germany. It is at this point that he introduces some forcible
criticisms on Tennyson's poetry of that character, and makes it evident
that the Laureate might have improved his Idyls by extending his
readings among the German chanters of Arthurian legend. The following
seems practical and just: "If Tennyson was determined to make the
love-passion the chief theme of his work, rather than the religious
element of the St. Graal, he had at hand in one of his legends that very
same relation between the sexes which existed between Queen Guinevere
and Launcelot, and yet deprived in the essential point of all disgusting
characteristics. It seems strange that the impropriety of making this
adulterous connection between the king and queen the chief theme of his
song should not have struck Tennyson when he dedicated his legends to
the husband of Queen Victoria, even in that dedication drawing
comparisons: strange that he should have taken no means to hide it, by
at least bringing the king into some position of interest, whereas he is
made so little of that he seems a mild, inoffensive, gentle soul, who is
ready even to shake hands with the seducer of his wife." In this
connection it will repay the reader to peruse, even if the version has
not much charm, the long extract from Gottfried's _Tristan_, with an eye
to the noble and knightly way in which the legend is conceived and taken
up. Mr. Kroeger, who can give it no grace in translation, is a warm
partisan in matters of melody and rhythm, appreciating Coleridge and
Swinburne. Altogether, he is a sincere and useful interpreter between
our public--rather careless of musty poetry--and the fine old German
singers.

_Books Received._

History of English Literature. By H. A. Taine. Abridged