These stories so ingenious in their construction, so wonderful in their character, so replete with incident and adventure of the most exciting nature, but withal so clear of comprehension have met with universal favour in Germany.
Musæus, the author, was a man of deep intellect and fertile imagination, embracing at once the tact of the dramatist and the energy and enthusiasm of the romancist: capable of imparting his ideas with the utmost vividness and enchaining the attention of his readers.
But the fame of Musæus has not been confined to Germany: a translation by Paul de Kock has been published in France with very great success. Without using more words of our own in praise of the eminent romancist, we lay before the reader the opinion of Wieland, justly called the German Voltaire, and of Paul de Kock, upon the merits of this singular production.
Extract from the Preface of Paul de Kock.
“The popular Fancy Stories of Musæus are entertaining as well as moral. In every line the author excites our curiosity and amuses our imagination and
