tmann as a dramatist of promise. In 1876 he was elected
secretary of the Berlin Academy of Arts, but served only a brief time.
In 1891 the Emperor made him a present of three thousand marks for his
services to German literature. In 1894 the University of Berlin
bestowed upon him the honorary title of doctor of philosophy. He died
on the twentieth day of September, 1898.

Fontane's lyric poetry in the narrower sense is not of a high order;
in fact almost none of his writings show the true lyric quality. There
is also a striking lack of the dramatic element in his works, and he
seems to have felt this limitation of his genius, for he studiously
avoided the portrayal of scenes that might prove intensely dramatic.
As a writer of ballads he excelled and ranks among the foremost of
Germany. The British subjects he treated were impressed upon him
during his travels in England and his study of English history. His
German themes were taken largely from Prussian history, particularly
the period of Frederick the Great. His permanent place in the history
of German literature is due, however, not so much to his verse as to
his prose writings. He is best known as a novelist, and in the field
of the modern novel he is one of the most conspicuous figures.

German novels of the older school were usually too long for a single
volume. Fontane's first important work of fiction, _Before the Storm_,
filled four volumes; but he had so much trouble in finding a publisher
for it that he began to write one-volume novels, introducing a
practice which has since become the common tradition. He employed in
them a typical feature of the technique of the ballad, which leaps
from one situation to another, leaving gaps to be filled by the fancy
of the reader. He says himself, in _Before the Storm_: "I have always
observed that the leaping action of the ballad is one of the chief
characteristics and beauties of this branch of poetry. All that is
necessary is that fancy be given the right kind of a stimulus. When
that end is attained, one may boldly assert, the less told the
better."

At the beginning of Fontane's career the Berlin novelists were
disciples of Scott, but the only one to survive was Alexis, who
adapted Scott's method to the Mark of Brandenburg. Fontane imitated
him in _Before the Storm_ (1878), which deals with conditions in the
Mark before the wars of liberation. _Schach von Wuthenow_ (1883), a
sort of prelude to _Before the Storm_, was