The Project Gutenberg EBook of Immensee, by Theodore W. Storm

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: Immensee

Author: Theodore W. Storm

Posting Date: July 28, 2010 [EBook #6650]
Release Date: October, 2004

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IMMENSEE ***

Produced by Delphine Lettau, Charles Franks, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team.

IMMENSEE

BY THEODOR W. STORM

TRANSLATED BY C. W. BELL M. A.

PREFACE

We are at the beginning of a new era which will, it is to be hoped, be
marked by a general _rapprochement_ between the nations. The need to
know and understand one another is being felt more and more. It follows
that the study of foreign languages will assume an ever-increasing
importance; indeed, so far as language, literature, and music are
concerned, one may safely assert that _fas est et ab hoste doceri_.

All those who wish to make acquaintance with the speech of their
neighbours, or who have allowed their former knowledge to grow rusty,
will welcome this edition, which will enable them, independently of
bulky dictionaries, to devote to language study the moments of leisure
which offer themselves in the course of the day.

The texts have been selected from the double point of view of their
literary worth and of the usefulness of their vocabulary; in the
translations, also, the endeavour has been to unite qualities of style
with strict fidelity to the original.

INTRODUCTION

Theodor W. Storm, poet and short-story writer (1817-1888), was born in
Schleswig. He was called to the Bar in his native town, Husum, in
1842, but had his licence to practise cancelled in 1853 for
'Germanophilism,' and had to remove to Germany. It was only in 1864
that he was able to return to Husum, where in 1874 he became a judge
of the Court of Appeals.

As early as 1843 he had made himself known as a lyrical poet of the
Romantic School, but it was as a short-story writer that he first took
a prominent place in literature, making a most happy _debut_ with
the story entitled _Immensee_.

There followed a long series of tales, rich in fancy and in humour,
although their inspiration is gene