Undine | Page 4

Satan in Loki.
Thus he lived, felt, and believed what he wrote, and though his dramas
and poems do not rise above fair mediocrity, and the great number of
his prose stories are injured by a certain monotony, the charm of them
is in their elevation of sentiment and the earnest faith pervading all. His
knights might be Sir Galahad--
"My strength is as the strength of ten, Because my heart is pure."

Evil comes to them as something to be conquered, generally as a form
of magic enchantment, and his "wondrous fair maidens" are worthy of
them. Yet there is adventure enough to afford much pleasure, and often
we have a touch of true genius, which has given actual ideas to the
world, and precious ones.
This genius is especially traceable in his two masterpieces, Sintram and
Undine. Sintram was inspired by Albert Durer's engraving of the
"Knight of Death," of which we give a presentation. It was sent to
Fouque by his friend Edward Hitzig, with a request that he would
compose a ballad on it. The date of the engraving is 1513, and we quote
the description given by the late Rev. R. St. John Tyrwhitt, showing
how differently it may be read.
"Some say it is the end of the strong wicked man, just overtaken by
Death and Sin, whom he has served on earth. It is said that the tuft on
the lance indicates his murderous character, being of such unusual size.
You know the use of that appendage was to prevent blood running
down from the spearhead to the hands. They also think that the object
under the horse's off hind foot is a snare, into which the old oppressor
is to fall instantly. The expression of the faces may be taken either way:
both good men and bad may have hard, regular features; and both good
men and bad would set their teeth grimly on seeing Death, with the
sands of their life nearly run out. Some say they think the expression of
Death gentle, or only admonitory (as the author of "Sintram"); and I
have to thank the authoress of the "Heir of Redclyffe" for showing me a
fine impression of the plate, where Death certainly had a not ungentle
countenance--snakes and all. I think the shouldered lance, and quiet,
firm seat on horseback, with gentle bearing on the curb-bit, indicate
grave resolution in the rider, and that a robber knight would have his
lance in rest; then there is the leafy crown on the horse's head; and the
horse and dog move on so quietly, that I am inclined to hope the best
for the Ritter."
Musing on the mysterious engraving, Fouque saw in it the life-long
companions of man, Death and Sin, whom he must defy in order to
reach salvation; and out of that contemplation rose his wonderful

romance, not exactly an allegory, where every circumstance can be
fitted with an appropriate meaning, but with the sense of the struggle of
life, with external temptation and hereditary inclination pervading all,
while Grace and Prayer aid the effort. Folko and Gabrielle are revived
from the Magic Ring, that Folko may by example and influence
enhance all higher resolutions; while Gabrielle, in all unconscious
innocence, awakes the passions, and thus makes the conquest the
harder.
It is within the bounds of possibility that the similarities of folk- lore
may have brought to Fouque's knowledge the outline of the story which
Scott tells us was the germ of "Guy Mannering"; where a boy, whose
horoscope had been drawn by an astrologer, as likely to encounter
peculiar trials at certain intervals, actually had, in his twenty-first year,
a sort of visible encounter with the Tempter, and came off conqueror by
his strong faith in the Bible. Sir Walter, between reverence and realism,
only took the earlier part of the story, but Fouque gives us the positive
struggle, and carries us along with the final victory and subsequent
peace. His tale has had a remarkable power over the readers. We cannot
but mention two remarkable instances at either end of the scale.
Cardinal Newman, in his younger days, was so much overcome by it
that he hurried out into the garden to read it alone, and returned with
traces of emotion in his face. And when Charles Lowder read it to his
East End boys, their whole minds seemed engrossed by it, and they
even called certain spots after the places mentioned. Imagine the Rocks
of the Moon in Ratcliff Highway!
May we mention that Miss Christabel Coleridge's "Waynflete" brings
something of the spirit and idea of "Sintram" into modern life?
"Undine" is a story of much lighter fancy, and full of a peculiar grace,
though with a depth of melancholy that endears it. No doubt