t they
ought to have been guarded as inviolable secrets; and he further
employed certain phrases which he took from confidential papers that
likewise came into his hands in consequence of his public position. In
extenuation of his fault, or perhaps in explanation of it, be it
remarked that his conduct does not appear to have been actuated by
premeditated or deliberate malice, but to have sprung solely from his
recklessness and want of prudence: the ridiculous appealed to his sense
of humour so irresistibly that nothing was sacred against it, and so
nothing was safe from it.

In the summer of 1819 Hoffmann was ordered by his physician to visit
the Silesian baths; and he derived excellent benefit from the
prescription, coming home stronger and in a more healthful frame of
mind than his friends had seen him for a long time. Soon after his
return he was appointed on the commission selected to inquire into
those secret societies and other suspicious political organisations
which were particularly active about this time (_Burschenschaften_,
_Landsmannschaften_ in their political aspect). Towards the end of the
year he published the first two volumes of the _Serapionsbrueder_, the
third volume following in 1820 and the fourth in 1821. These volumes
contain all his tales that had appeared in various magazines and serial
publications, together with others now first published, and are linked
together by a running commentary, or rather they are set into it as
into a framework; the Serapion Society are represented as meeting at
stated intervals, when one or more of the members relate a tale. The
discussions which precede and follow the tales are full of sage remarks
about art and art-matters and other ripe practical wisdom, and contain
perhaps more matured thought than anything else that proceeded from
Hoffmann's pen. Of these numerous stories the best have been selected
for translation in these two volumes, namely, _Der Artushof_ (Arthur's
Hall), _Die Fermate_ (The Fermata), _Doge und Dogaresse_ (Doge and
Dogess), _Meister Martin der Kuefner und seine Gesellen_ (Master Martin
the Cooper and his Journey men ), _Das Fraeulein von Scuderi_
(Mademoiselle de Scuderi), _Spieler Glueck_ (Gambler's Luck), and
_Signor Formica_. The remaining twelve tales call for no special
mention, except perhaps _Nussknacker_, which has been already alluded
to, _Das fremde Kind_, a curious mixture of reality and fairyland, and
_Der Zusammenhang der Ding