690 
brief notice of them. BrrRcGeER, advan- 
tageoufly known before by his Henry IV. 
produced now a tragedy in iambics, 
founded on the tragic Hiftory of Conra- 
dine of Swabia. Count SopEK drama- 
tifed the ftory of Bianca Capello. KotzeE- 
BUE, from whom the public are every 
year expecting fomething new, furnithed, 
in the ninth and tenth volume of his New 
Plays, feveral affecting dramas, comedies, 
and farces, fome of them imitated from 
French authors, Of the late Mr. JUNGER, 
there appeared two pofthumous volumes 
of plays; and likewife fevera] theatrical 
productions by the late ingenious a¢tor 
and dramatic writer, Beck; and likewile 
feveral new productions for the ftage, 
by RamBpacH, ROCHLITZ, ZIEGLER, 
ZSCHOKKE, and other living authors. 
W. A. SCHLEGEL, whom we have 
mentioned before as the tranfplanter of 
exotic flowers of poetry into German 
ground, and, in a former Retrofpect, as 
the tranflator of Shake{peare, publifhed, 
befides the Ion of Euripides Ger- 
manized the beginning of a Spanifh 
‘Theatre, in which he retains the verfifi- 
eation of the original. ‘The whole are ina 
ftyle that certainly will not fuit the tafte 
of every body. From the fuccefs of 
GorHE in adapting the Tancred and 
Mahomet of Voltaire to the German ftage, 
the French tragedians had again become 
the order of the day, notwith{tanding the 
fentence of condemnation lately pronoun- 
ced againft them by Horn. Corneille’s 
Rodogune and Racine’s Bajazet, were 
Germanized with much diligence and abi- 
lity by A. Bong. 
NOVELS. 
Such is the increafing rage for reading 
among a]! ranks of people, that not only 
a vaft crowd of novels, romances, tales, 
&c. make their appearance every year, 
but even whole colleStions, or feries of 
them, fome of which furnifh originals and 
tranflations, and others are appropriated 
to the reception of the productions cf par- 
ticular countries, meet with fupport and 
encouragement. We fhali notice only a 
few by writers of approved merit. Gzr- 
BER, who had hitherto concealed him- 
felf under the aflumed rame of Doro Ca- 
ro, and who has a pleafing manner of 
telling a tale, publifhed a ‘‘ Colleion of 
New Novels.’ In the profe works of 
Von Harem, we find ten mifeellaneous 
narratives, and eighteen tales of the mid- 
dle ages. Kinp, advantageoufly known 
before as the author of ‘* Carlo and Na- 
talis, and of ** Caftle Aklam,”’ a dra- 
matic poem, which though rather defec- 
tive on the whole, contains many beauti- 
Retrofped? of German Literature —Novels, &c. 
ful paffages, furnifhed, in conjun&ion 
with Lafontaine, two ‘* Myftic Narra- 
tives.” LAFonTAINE kimlelf, favoured 
the public with the beginning of a new 
feries of novels, under the title of ‘* So 
geht es in der Welt,” which cannot fail 
to meet with approbation, as they are 
written in the ufual manner of that fa- 
vourite author. Two merry authors, 
LaNGBEIN and Laun, publifhed new 
collections of humourous tales. Ricu- 
TER, better known by affumed name of 
Jean Paul, concluded his ‘* Titan,” 
the moft finifhed production of this fenti- 
mental and paradoxical writer. SCHIL- 
LING, diftinguifhed by his happy mede 
delineating original character, and by his 
knowledge of the toneand manner of po- 
Jithed fociety, added to his former pleaf- 
ing produétions a comic romance, enti- 
tled: «* Die Ignoranten.” SELBIGER, 
whofe “Journey to France” (a la Yo= 
rick) had been received with approbation, 
announced another fentimental ‘ Journey 
to the Bath.”” However much may be 
expected from the known genius of the 
author, we doubt whether he will ever ri- 
val THUMMEL, whofe * Reife dureh die 
Mittaglichen Provinzen von Frankreich,” 
-—Tour through the Southern Provinces 
of France—in a beautiful profe narrative, 
intermixt with charming poetical effu- 
fions, unites humour with the philofophy 
of life. Paffing over a number of works 
of inferior note, we fhall clofe this feétion 
with the notice of a new edition of the 
«© Das goldene Kalb,’’—the Golden Calf, 
by an anonymous author, This ha- 
mourous fatire againft many of the pre- 
vailing follies and vices of our egoiftic 
age, abounds with wit and ftriking 
remarks on the human, and. particula:ly 
the female, heart. 
THEORY AND HISTORY OF THE FINE 
ARTS. 
In this department of literature there 
likewife appeared feveral works worthy of 
notice. Befides the continuation of the 
‘‘ Handbuch der Efthetik,”—Compen- 
dium of A&fthetics, by the venerable 
EBERHARD, of Halle, who had long 
given oral inftru€tions cn that fubjet, we 
were favoured with SaueErR’s * Unter- 
fuchungen uber den Antheil der Einbil- 
dungskraft an deu Werken der Dicht- und 
Redekunft,”” where the author, in treat- 
ing of the influence of the imagination in 
poetical and rhetorical produétions, has 
combined the principles of Kant with the 
opinions of Schiller, BzcHER, author 
of feveral hiftorical works for the ufe of 
young perfons, confidered the ‘ Dicht- 
kunft ans dem Gefichtspunecte des Hifte- 
riker,”” 
