tness with the broad movements of contemporary public life. But the
play is indeed, as Ludwig desired it to be, "a declaration of war
against the unnaturalness and conventionalities of our latter-day stage
literature." The life-like characters which it portrays, the convincing
language which they speak, the carefully drawn _milieu_ in which they
move, the intense struggle of passions in which they are engaged-these
are all handled with a skill as rare as it is artistically true to life.
And even though the atmosphere enveloping it all seems to combine the
realism of Ludwig's maturity with the romantic pre-disposition of his
earlier works, it remains in fine keeping with that shadowy forest-world
which forms the setting of the play.

Ludwig's next drama, _The Maccabaeans_, was of a radically different
mold. From prose we pass to verse, from humble middle-class life to the
traditional grandeur of classical tragedy, from the narrow circle of
domestic happenings to a Shakespearean canvas of broad historical
associations, from contemporary Germany to those heroic struggles in
which, in the second century, B.C., the Jews under the leadership of
Judas Maccabaeus defended their national and religious freedom against
Syrian oppression. In this drama also, certain faults of construction
are evident. There is a lack of central unity of interest, in part due,
no doubt, to the long processes of development which the play underwent
before completion. But again, there is the same masterly technique in
all matters of detail, a wonderful strength and beauty of language,
subtle and convincing character-portrayal and a splendid realization of
that ethnic atmosphere of Jewish life and character in which the drama
moves and from which its conflicts spring.

Of the two stories of Ludwig, the _Heiterethei_ is in every way the
lighter; nevertheless, it is one of the best of those famous stories
from peasant life in which German literature is so rich. More artistic
than Jeremias Gotthelf and in a deeper sense truer to life than
Auerbach, Ludwig has here created a popular tale of great charm and
power. The "poetic realism" of his manner and the subdued ethical
didacticism of his purpose have been skillfully united in forming an
excellent example of truly popular art. The story is that of the gradual
mellowing and final happy marriage of two young people who, with the
best of hearts, are veritable firebrands of self-willed defiance to
everything