ods, and is animated by the
beautiful thought that peoples the sea and air with nymphs and
spirits. With exquisite tenderness Fouque portrays the beautiful
character of Undine. At first her nature reflects all the
capriciousness of the elements, then, gradually growing more human
through her love, her soul expands and she becomes an ideal of womanly
love, devotion, and unselfishness.

The real and unreal are so perfectly blended in this story, that the
suffering of Undine excites deep sympathy. Undine, the foster-daughter
of a good old fisherman and his wife, is a water nymph, and as such is
born without a soul. The knight Huldbrand von Ringstetten is sent by
Bertalda in quest of adventure, and riding through an enchanted forest
he reaches the fisherman's hut, where he is detained by a storm. He
falls in love with the laughing, wayward Undine, and marries her. At
once the bewitching maiden gives up her wild pranks, grows gentle, and
is devoted to the knight with all her heart; for through her marriage
to a human being she receives a soul. Her uncle Kuehleborn, a forest
brook, tries to entice her back to her native element the sea.

The bridal couple go to their castle, where Bertalda joins them, doing
much to disturb their happiness. Huldbrand, though he still loves his
beautiful wife, cannot at times suppress an instinctive shudder, and
he is attracted to Bertalda, whose nature is more akin to his own.

One day, while they are sailing on the Danube, Kuehleborn manages to
steal away a necklace with which Bertalda is playing in the water.
Undine richly compensates Bertalda for her loss by a much rarer gift,
but Huldbrand angrily upbraids her for continuing to hold intercourse
with her uncanny relatives. In tears she parts from him, and vanishes
in the waves. The knight marries Bertalda, but on the wedding-day,
Undine, deeply veiled, rises from the sea to claim her husband, and
with a kiss she takes away his life.

Heine says of 'Undine':--

"A wondrous lovely poem. The genius of Poetry kissed
slumbering Spring, and smiling he opened his eyes, and all
the roses and the nightingales sang; and what the fragrant
roses said and what the nightingales sang, our worthy Fouque
put into words and called it 'Undine.'"

THE MARRIAGE OF UNDINE

From 'Undine'

Before the nuptial ceremony, and during its performance, Undine had
shown a modest gentleness and maidenly reserve; but it now seemed as
i