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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. vn. MARCH 2. iwi.
this is the only tale written in imitation of
Oriental fiction which equals, and perhaps
transcends, what it copies. In works* like
Bunyan's' Pilgrim's Progress,' Swift's 'Gulli-
ver's Travels,' and Voltaire's romances, the
marvellous is only used as a means to some
instructive end. Many have been the
voyages to the sun and to the moon; and
very dull they generally are. If one adds
the * Undine' of La Motte Fouque to ' Vathek'
and the 'Diable Amoureux,' the three most
beautiful modern prose stories dealing with
the marvellous will have been brought into
conjunction. Cazotte says that he wrote the
'Diable Amoureux' in one day. Beckford
wrote his ' Vathek ' in an exceedingly short
time. Both these authors lived to the age of
eighty, and though they wrote much besides,
neither of them has produced anything of
vitality, or worthy of vitality, except the
above-mentioned works, which occupied so
very small a portion of their time.
Wieland in ' Prince Biribinker,' a story in 'Don Sylvio von Rosalba,' has travestied fairy and fantastic fiction ; but his story, though somewhat obscene, is itself very good fantastic fiction. Musseus did not originate his stories, although indeed it is said that he invented one of them concerning Riibezahl in order to explain the name. But he col- lected some excellent traditions, and put them into very good form. Hoffmann was a most original writer. The best of his fan- tastic stories is the 'Golden Pot.' Wild fancy is there blent with a strain of genuine humour, and the union of the supernatural impossibilities with the possibilities of real life is generally well executed. The most inartistic thing in the story is the conclusion, where a German student of modern times is carried away into an impossible fairyland. The unbridled imagination of Hoffmann went too far. Even these marvellous stories should beconsistent with themselves. Granted the supernatural machinery, the rest should not be incongruous. But Hoffmann made his story impossible on any hypothesis. Hauff wrote two good stories, the 'Dwarf with the Long Nose ' and the ' Cold Heart ' ; but the rest of his supernatural work is mediocre. Especially absurd are his imitations of Oriental fiction. Almost in every line he displays his utter ignorance of the East. He might have corrected his blunders by a care- ful perusal of the 'Arabian Nights,' even though he never had the opportunity of riding upon a camel.
The name of Washington Irving occurs as the writer of some of the most charming Eastern stories, for his Moorish stories may
be called Eastern, though the scene of them
is in Spain. But he did not invent them.
They are really Eastern. He simply told
them again, improving them with his own
style, grace, and humour. These Eastern
stories, and indeed all stories of the fantastic
kind, are the most difficult things to do well
and the easiest things to do badly. Of
Washington Irvirig's other fantastic fiction
the same may be said as of his Oriental
tales. He did not invent his stories, but he
clothed them with a charm peculiarly his
E. YARDLEY.
own.
SHAKESPEARE THE "KNAVISH" AND
RABELAIS.
ALTHOUGH ingenuity has almost been ex- hausted in eulogy of Shakspere, yet from his own days to ours there have been some discordant voices. Within about forty years of his death we have a reference to " the knavish Shakspere." As this is not mentioned in the volumes of allusions to him issued by the New Shakspere Society, it may be desirable to call attention to it.
The first edition of Thomas Blount's ' Academy of Compliments ' is dated in the British Museum Catalogue 29 January, 1654, that is, according to our present reckoning, 1655. There was a second edition in 1656 with additions, a third in 1664, a fourth in 1670, and a fifth in 1683. The book is pedantic, but contains some noteworthy matter. For the present it is enough to cite the Shaksperean reference. Blount, in addi- tion to a treatise on 'English Ehetorique,' gives examples of "commonplaces," formulas, instructions for addressing letters, a collection of letters intended apparently as models of epistolary style or else for service as a com- plete letter-writer, and instructions as to "superscriptions for letters to be addressed to all sorts of persons."
One of the letters reads :
LXXVII. To a Friend upon hi* Marriage.
SIR, I have of late with-held from you the Characters of my hand, though not the well-wishes of my heart, conceiving you as close in the pursuit of your fair Daphne, as Phcebus was of his, when the breath of his mouth disorder'd her disheveled hair : For I perceive you have now ran so, as happily to take the Virgin prize ; may you be ever mutually happy. There now only remains the metamorphosis not into the Beast with two backs, which the knavish Shakespear speaks of) but of that more ingenious, two into one, unus, una into unum, which you have hinted so modestly in yours. Your Daphne L hope (before the arrival of this Paper) will be con- verted not only into Bays, but Rosemary, which is one fragrancy, due to her perfections (if you have
