Anglo-German school in England, and the
cleverest Englishman who ever talked or wrote encomiastic nonsense about
Germany and the Germans. Of all infatuations connected with what is
foreign, the infatuation about everything that is German, to a certain
extent prevalent in England, is assuredly the most ridiculous. One can
find something like a palliation for people making themselves somewhat
foolish about particular languages, literatures, and people. The Spanish
certainly is a noble language, and there is something wild and
captivating in the Spanish character, and its literature contains the
grand book of the world. French is a manly language. The French are the
most martial people in the world; and French literature is admirable in
many respects. Italian is a sweet language, and of beautiful simplicity;
its literature, perhaps, the first in the world. The
Italians!--wonderful men have sprung up in Italy. Italy is not merely
famous for painters, poets, musicians, singers, and linguists--the
greatest linguist the world ever saw, the late Cardinal Mezzofanti, was
an Italian; but it is celebrated for men--men emphatically speaking:
Columbus was in Italian, Alexander Farnese was an Italian, so was the
mightiest of the mighty, Napoleon Bonaparte. But the German language,
German literature, and the Germans! The writer has already stated his
opinion with respect to German; he does not speak from ignorance or
prejudice; he has heard German spoken, and many other languages. German
literature! he does not speak from ignorance; he has read that and many a
literature, and he repeats--however, he acknowledges that there is one
fine poem in the German language; that poem is the 'Oberon'--a poem,
by-the-by, ignored by the Germans--a speaking fact--and, of course, by
the Anglo-Germanists. The Germans! he has been amongst them, and amongst
many other nations, and confesses that his opinion of the Germans, as
men, is a very low one. Germany, it is true, has produced one very great
man, the monk who fought the Pope, and nearly knocked him down; but this
man his countrymen--a telling fact--affect to despise, and, of course,
the Anglo-Germanists. The father of Anglo-Germanism was very fond of
inveighing against Luther.

The madness, or rather foolery, of the English for foreign customs,
dresses, and languages, is not an affair of to-day, or yesterday--it is
of very ancient date, and was very properly exposed nearly three
cen